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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 drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. stem — to come from
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. club — for golf
  6. chest — of your body
  7. season — of the year
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. land — a country
  10. season — in sport
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. land — ground
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. club — a group
  15. chest — of your body
  16. land — to come down
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. chest — a box
  22. club — for dancing
  23. shower — rain
  24. lash — an eyelash

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