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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: deal · toast · row · stem · cell · wound

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. deal — to handle
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. wound — an injury
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. row — to paddle
  10. cell — in biology
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. row — a line
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. cell — a phone
  15. stem — to come from
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. toast — bread

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