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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. chest — of your body
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. board — to get on
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. kid — child
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. chest — a box
  12. hand — in cards
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. dip — to sink
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. board — a committee
  21. kid — to tease
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. hand — help
  24. calf — of the leg

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