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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 124 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. chest — of your body
  13. stand — to bear
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. scale — size or range
  17. chest — a box
  18. deal — to handle
  19. scale — in music
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. stem — to come from
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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