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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. kid — to tease
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. stem — to come from
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. board — a committee
  10. board — to get on
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — a trail
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rash — a series
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — in sport
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. wound — an injury
  23. net — for catching
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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