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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cell — in biology
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. spring — a coil
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. spring — the season
  12. cell — a phone
  13. chest — a box
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. dip — to sink
  16. mine — for digging
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. stem — to come from
  23. spring — of water
  24. chest — of your body

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