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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. ground — a position
  4. staff — employees
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. ground — the earth
  8. row — a line
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. ground — crushed
  12. fall — to drop
  13. last — finally
  14. staff — employees
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. cell — in biology
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. staff — a stick
  20. cell — a phone
  21. last — to go on
  22. last — final
  23. stem — to come from
  24. row — to paddle

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