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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: file · hand · mine · stem · bat · kick · safe · cell

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. kick — in football
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. file — a tool
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. hand — help
  13. file — a document
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. file — a line of people
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. stem — to come from
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. hand — in cards
  21. cell — a phone
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cell — in biology
  24. kick — a thrill

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