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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. kid — child
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. rest — what's left
  6. cap — a hat
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a tool
  9. cap — of ice
  10. kid — to tease
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. spring — of water
  13. season — of the year
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. spring — a coil
  16. rest — a break
  17. spring — the season
  18. season — in sport
  19. cap — a lid
  20. rest — what's left
  21. file — a document
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. stem — to come from

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