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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. rest — a break
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. net — after costs
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in biology
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. mine — for digging
  12. fork — in a road
  13. stem — to come from
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. mark — a trace
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. net — in sport
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. mark — a grade
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — what's left
  23. net — for catching
  24. deal — an agreement

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