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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bound — certain
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — for catching
  6. fine — all right
  7. cap — of ice
  8. chest — a box
  9. stem — to come from
  10. chest — of your body
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bound — obliged
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bound — tied together
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. fine — high quality
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. row — a line
  23. row — to paddle
  24. stem — of a plant

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