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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. stand — to bear
  4. drill — a practice
  5. spell — letters
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. drill — the tool
  10. cell — a phone
  11. spell — magic
  12. wind — moving air
  13. spell — a short time
  14. cell — in biology
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. wind — moving air

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