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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 116 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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. band — a music group
  6. stem — to come from
  7. file — a document
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. file — a tool
  10. mate — to breed
  11. band — a ring
  12. mine — for digging
  13. mate — a partner
  14. court — of a king
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. board — to get on
  18. mate — a friend
  19. file — a line of people
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — a committee
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. court — of law

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