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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: ruler · scale · coach · stem · rest · clip · stand · last

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. last — to go on
  3. rest — what's left
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. clip — a video
  6. clip — for paper
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. scale — in music
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. scale — size or range
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. last — final
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. rest — what's left
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. rest — a break
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. stand — to bear
  21. last — finally
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. ruler — for measuring

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com