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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. shower — rain
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. firm — steady
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. stem — to come from
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. root — the cause
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. firm — a company
  13. root — of a word
  14. cell — a phone
  15. pitch — completely
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. shower — to wash
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. cell — in biology
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. mine — for digging
  24. root — 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