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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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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: clip · roll · last · key · stem · kid · foot · mouse

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. clip — to cut
  3. key — the most important part
  4. kid — child
  5. key — in music
  6. last — final
  7. clip — a video
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. clip — for paper
  11. foot — a measure
  12. stem — to come from
  13. kid — to tease
  14. roll — a cake
  15. key — for a lock
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. last — to go on
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. last — finally
  24. stem — a stem cell

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