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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — to come from
  3. tube — the underground
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. wound — an injury
  6. tube — a container
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. mate — a friend
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. row — to paddle
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. pound — a weight
  14. mate — to breed
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. mate — a partner
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — in a road
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. row — a line

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