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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 116 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 · calf · fine · stem · leaves · spell · craft

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. craft — boats
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. clip — for paper
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. spell — magic
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. craft — a skill
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. spell — a short time
  13. hand — help
  14. fine — high quality
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. spell — letters
  18. clip — a video
  19. stem — to come from
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. clip — to cut
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. hand — in cards
  24. stem — of a plant

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