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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stem · chest · row · cell · nail · bowl

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. stem — to come from
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. row — a line
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. chest — of your body
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. row — to paddle
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. chest — a box

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