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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
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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: mate · toast · stem · jam · prune · shower · clip · bass

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. toast — bread
  3. mate — a partner
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. bass — the fish
  11. shower — to wash
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. mate — a friend
  15. stem — to come from
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. mate — to breed
  18. bass — low music
  19. shower — rain
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. prune — to trim
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. clip — for paper
  24. clip — a video

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