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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: tube · stem · mug · bat · lash · chest · hand · net

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. hand — help
  5. mug — a cup
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. hand — in cards
  9. net — for catching
  10. mug — to rob
  11. chest — of your body
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. net — in sport
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. tube — a container
  18. net — after costs
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. bat — the animal
  21. tube — the underground
  22. mug — a face
  23. chest — a box
  24. bat — for baseball

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