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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 120 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: dip · calf · tear · court · stem · ruler · clip · bat

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. clip — a video
  4. tear — to rip
  5. court — for sport
  6. clip — for paper
  7. clip — to cut
  8. dip — to sink
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. bat — the animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. tear — from crying
  22. court — of law
  23. stem — to come from
  24. court — of a king

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