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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 120 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: bat · kick · stem · mine · rule · wind

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. wind — moving air
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mine — for digging
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — to come from
  13. rule — government
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rule — a law
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. kick — in football
  18. bat — for baseball

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