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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. toast — bread
  6. cell — in biology
  7. tube — a container
  8. roll — a list
  9. land — a country
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. tube — the underground
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — letters
  16. spell — magic
  17. cell — a phone
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. roll — a cake
  21. land — ground
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. land — to come down
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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