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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: stem · clip · mine · craft · pop · calf · rock · present

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. present — a gift
  3. stem — to come from
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. pop — to visit
  6. craft — boats
  7. rock — a stone
  8. clip — a video
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. clip — for paper
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. clip — to cut
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. mine — for digging
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. craft — a skill
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. rock — music
  20. pop — music
  21. present — the time now
  22. present — there
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. pop — soda

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