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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 120 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: stem · cabinet · clip · drill · race · prune · scale · mate

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. mate — to breed
  4. drill — a practice
  5. mate — a friend
  6. drill — the tool
  7. clip — for paper
  8. scale — in music
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — the arms race
  11. clip — to cut
  12. drill — army training
  13. scale — size or range
  14. prune — to trim
  15. race — a contest
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. stem — to come from
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. clip — a video
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. prune — to trim

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