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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: ruler · stem · key · field · kid · tube · clip · spell

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. tube — a container
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. kid — child
  6. spell — letters
  7. field — farmland
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — magic
  10. kid — to tease
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. clip — a video
  13. key — in music
  14. clip — for paper
  15. field — a subject
  16. stem — to come from
  17. key — for a lock
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. key — the most important part
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. field — for sport
  24. ruler — for measuring

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