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

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. stem — to come from
  3. net — for catching
  4. cap — a lid
  5. cap — of ice
  6. mug — to rob
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cap — a hat
  9. mug — a cup
  10. kid — child
  11. plane — a tool
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. kid — to tease
  14. mug — a face
  15. net — in sport
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. stem — a stem cell

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