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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 120 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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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. lean — to rest against
  4. lean — to bend
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. bore — to tire
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. mate — to breed
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of law
  13. bore — to drill
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — in music
  18. chest — a box
  19. mate — a partner
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. court — of a king
  22. lean — thin
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mate — a friend

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