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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: bat · clip · bound · spring · leaves · stem · rest · present

  1. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — of a tree
  2. spring — a coil
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. rest — what's left
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. rest — a break
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. bat — the animal
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. bound — certain
  14. spring — of water
  15. present — the time now
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. present — there
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bound — tied together
  20. spring — the season
  21. clip — a video
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. present — a gift
  24. bound — obliged

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