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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: stem · kid · deal · hand · hide · cell · pitcher · roll

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. stem — to come from
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. roll — a cake
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. cell — a phone
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. hand — in cards
  17. kid — to tease
  18. kid — child
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. deal — to handle
  23. cell — in biology
  24. roll — on a roll

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