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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 was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. stem — to come from
  3. net — in sport
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. cell — in biology
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. kick — in football
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — after costs
  16. bank — for money
  17. bank — of a river
  18. bank — for money
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cell — a phone
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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