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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. land — ground
  4. kid — to tease
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. stem — to come from
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. rest — what's left
  10. mine — for digging
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. kid — child
  15. rest — what's left
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. land — a country
  22. land — to come down
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. stem — of a plant

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