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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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Word bank
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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: hide · band · lean · bat · hand · bulb · stem · court

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. lean — to bend
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. court — of a king
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. court — for sport
  11. band — a ring
  12. hand — in cards
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. court — of law
  19. hand — help
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — for light
  23. lean — thin
  24. stem — to come from

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