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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. wind — moving air
  6. charge — electricity
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. charge — in control
  9. wind — moving air
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — to come from
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. hand — in cards
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. charge — a price
  17. hand — help
  18. mine — for digging

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