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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fine — all right
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. saw — the tool
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — for digging
  15. rush — hurry
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. saw — the tool
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. cell — a phone
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. stem — to come from
  24. bowl — a football final

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