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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 116 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. cell — a phone
  5. land — to come down
  6. pop — soda
  7. pop — music
  8. fine — all right
  9. stem — to come from
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rest — a break
  12. rest — what's left
  13. fine — high quality
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. land — a country
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. land — ground
  18. cell — in biology

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