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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 116 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. object — to protest
  4. cell — a phone
  5. snap — to click
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. cell — in biology
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. mine — for digging
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. stem — to come from
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to tire
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. object — a thing
  21. object — an aim
  22. bore — to drill
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. stand — to bear

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