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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. stem — to come from
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. tube — the underground
  5. court — of law
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. tube — a container
  8. court — for sport
  9. lean — to bend
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — thin
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. spring — of water
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. cell — in biology
  17. court — of a king
  18. drill — a practice
  19. cell — a phone
  20. spring — a coil
  21. drill — the tool
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. kick — in football
  24. spring — the season

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