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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: bound · last · stem · mug · game · clip · wake · spring

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bound — obliged
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. mug — a face
  6. last — to go on
  7. clip — a video
  8. spring — the season
  9. game — a match
  10. mug — a cup
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. game — wild animals
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. clip — to cut
  15. last — finally
  16. bound — tied together
  17. wake — a trail
  18. clip — for paper
  19. last — final
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. spring — of water
  22. stem — to come from
  23. mug — to rob
  24. bound — certain

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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