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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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468
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: bank · clip · date · staff · stem · track · cold · fall

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. stem — to come from
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bank — of a river
  6. staff — employees
  7. cold — an illness
  8. date — the fruit
  9. track — to keep track
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. staff — employees
  12. fall — the season
  13. track — a song
  14. bank — for money
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. clip — to cut
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. staff — a stick
  20. bank — for money
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. clip — for paper
  23. track — a path
  24. fall — to drop

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