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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.

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: plane · stem · wake · clip · toast · bat · staff · row

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. stem — to come from
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — a stick
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. clip — a video
  9. row — to paddle
  10. staff — employees
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. clip — for paper
  13. wake — a trail
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. plane — a tool
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. row — a line
  21. clip — to cut
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. bat — the animal

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