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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. stem — to come from
  3. cell — in biology
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. wake — a trail
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. cell — a phone
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. club — for dancing
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. club — a group

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