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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: wind · spring · chip · arm · stem · stand · clip · stick

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. spring — a coil
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. stem — to come from
  7. clip — a video
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stand — to bear
  12. clip — for paper
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. wind — moving air
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. chip — for betting
  21. spring — the season
  22. clip — to cut
  23. spring — of water
  24. chip — to eat

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