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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. land — to come down
  4. chair — a leader
  5. kid — child
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. land — ground
  8. kid — to tease
  9. lean — to bend
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. lean — thin
  12. cell — in biology
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. land — a country
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. charge — electricity
  18. charge — a price
  19. charge — in control
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. cell — a phone
  22. stem — to come from
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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