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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: stem · cold · date · mark · clip · ball · lie · snap

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — an illness
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. stem — to come from
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mark — a grade
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — the fruit
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. snap — to click
  16. mark — a trace
  17. clip — for paper
  18. ball — a great time
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. lie — to recline
  23. clip — a video
  24. ball — a dance

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