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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. fine — all right
  5. fine — high quality
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. dip — to sink
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bat — the animal
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a ring
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. present — the time now
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. present — a gift
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. present — there
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. stem — of a plant

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