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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. stem — to come from
  3. net — in sport
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. net — for catching
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pass — a permit
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. can — a tin
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in biology
  20. net — after costs
  21. can — a tin
  22. mine — for digging
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. pass — to spend time

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