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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 116 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: fall · bulb · kick · cell · stem · wave · bat · lie

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. bat — the animal
  5. fall — to drop
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bulb — for light
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. lie — to recline
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. kick — in football
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. fall — the season
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. lie — an untruth

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