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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 116 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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stem — to come from
  6. rest — a break
  7. kid — child
  8. rest — what's left
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. cell — in biology
  13. rest — what's left
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. kid — to tease
  17. sharp — clever
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. cell — a phone
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. coach — a trainer

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