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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: straw · roll · kick · stem · cell · drill

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kick — in football
  6. drill — the tool
  7. cell — a phone
  8. roll — a list
  9. cell — in biology
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. drill — army training
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. drill — a practice

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