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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: stem · object · march · kick · cap · clip · foot · cold

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. object — an aim
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. foot — a measure
  8. cap — a hat
  9. kick — in football
  10. march — the month
  11. cold — not warm
  12. object — to protest
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. clip — a video
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cold — an illness
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. stem — to come from
  20. object — a thing
  21. march — music
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. march — the month

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