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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. pass — a permit
  6. land — a country
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. band — a music group
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. band — a ring
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. chair — a leader
  15. fall — to drop
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. fall — to drop
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. land — to come down
  24. fall — 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