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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. kid — to tease
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. cell — a phone
  10. kick — in football
  11. kid — child
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. cell — in biology
  14. stem — to come from
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. branch — a division
  17. mine — for digging
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. plane — a tool
  23. prune — to trim
  24. plane — an aircraft

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