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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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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: clip · roll · lean · bat · cap · object · stem · coach

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. object — an aim
  4. roll — a list
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. object — to protest
  9. object — a thing
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. cap — a lid
  12. lean — to bend
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. stem — to come from
  16. cap — of ice
  17. roll — a cake
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. clip — a video
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. bat — the animal
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. clip — for paper
  24. cap — a hat

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