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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. staff — a stick
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. degree — from a university
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — a phone
  10. degree — temperature
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — employees
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. drill — the tool
  18. mine — for digging
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. drill — army training
  21. stem — to come from
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. degree — an amount
  24. lash — to lash out

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