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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: wave · nail · wind · hide · cell · stem · bat · hand

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bat — the animal
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. hand — help
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. stem — to come from
  14. hand — in cards
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. wind — moving air
  18. cell — in biology
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. bat — in an idiom

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