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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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. mug — to rob
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. mug — a face
  7. rush — hurry
  8. cell — a phone
  9. degree — from a university
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. cell — in biology
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. degree — an amount
  14. land — a country
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. bat — the animal
  18. degree — temperature
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. land — ground
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. land — to come down
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bat — for baseball

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