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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. hand — in cards
  3. last — to go on
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. shower — to wash
  9. last — finally
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. hand — help
  12. march — the month
  13. last — final
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. cell — a phone
  17. march — the month
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. march — music
  20. stem — to come from
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. shower — rain
  24. cell — in biology

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