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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. court — of a king
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. court — for sport
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. saw — the tool
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. net — for catching
  11. pitch — completely
  12. net — after costs
  13. chip — to eat
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. net — in sport
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. chip — for betting
  20. saw — the tool
  21. court — of law
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. lash — to lash out

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