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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: court · lean · staff · stem · kid · ruler · clip · fan

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. lean — to bend
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. kid — child
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. lean — thin
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. court — for sport
  11. staff — employees
  12. stem — to come from
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. court — of a king
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — to cut
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. clip — for paper
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. staff — employees
  23. court — of law
  24. staff — a stick

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