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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.

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: drill · clip · season · cold · bear · spell · mark · stem

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. bear — the animal
  5. spell — magic
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. drill — the tool
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — a video
  10. cold — not warm
  11. drill — a practice
  12. season — in sport
  13. mark — a grade
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. bear — the animal
  17. stem — to come from
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spell — letters
  20. mark — a trace
  21. cold — an illness
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. drill — army training

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