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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. net — for catching
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. roll — a cake
  6. land — ground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. roll — a list
  9. land — a country
  10. drill — a practice
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. net — after costs
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — a container
  16. net — in sport
  17. hand — help
  18. land — to come down
  19. drill — army training
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. hand — in cards
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. drill — the tool

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