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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. last — finally
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. last — final
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bound — tied together
  8. stem — to come from
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. bound — certain
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cell — in biology
  14. last — to go on
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. squash — the sport
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. wind — moving air
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — help
  24. squash — to crush

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