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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: clip · stand · chest · stem · roll · cell · scale · fine

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. clip — for paper
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. roll — a cake
  5. scale — size or range
  6. fine — high quality
  7. scale — in music
  8. stand — to bear
  9. chest — of your body
  10. roll — a list
  11. chest — a box
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. stem — to come from
  14. clip — a video
  15. cell — in biology
  16. cell — a phone
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. chest — of your body
  20. clip — to cut
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. fine — all right
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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