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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: cell · lash · pass · present · court · cold · stem · pound

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. present — a gift
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. present — there
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. present — the time now
  10. cold — not warm
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of law
  13. court — of a king
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. cell — a phone
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. pound — a weight
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. pass — a permit

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