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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: foot · bat · wound · stem · spell · spring · arm · clip

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. bat — the animal
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. clip — a video
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. spell — a short time
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. spell — magic
  13. clip — for paper
  14. spring — a coil
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. spring — of water
  18. foot — a measure
  19. wound — an injury
  20. stem — to come from
  21. clip — to cut
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. spell — letters
  24. foot — the bottom

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