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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: hand · clip · jam · cell · stem · wake · mine · wave

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mine — for digging
  4. stem — to come from
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. hand — help
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. clip — a video
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. clip — for paper
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wake — a trail
  20. hand — in cards
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. clip — to cut
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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