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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. wind — moving air
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. kid — to tease
  5. last — to go on
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. board — a committee
  10. stem — to come from
  11. last — finally
  12. last — final
  13. kid — child
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. wind — moving air
  18. board — to get on

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