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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. rule — a law
  5. craft — a skill
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. bat — the animal
  8. chest — of your body
  9. stem — to come from
  10. kid — child
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. chest — a box
  13. lean — to bend
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. pitch — completely
  16. craft — boats
  17. rule — government
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. lean — thin
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. kid — to tease

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