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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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. mine — an explosive
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. land — ground
  7. land — a country
  8. saw — the tool
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. cell — a phone
  11. mine — for digging
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. saw — the tool
  21. land — to come down
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. hide — animal skin

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