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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 120 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: wound · rush · bay · nail · stem · kid · mine · cell

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. kid — to tease
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. mine — for digging
  7. cell — a phone
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. kid — child
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. wound — an injury
  14. stem — to come from
  15. rush — hurry
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. nail — for a hammer

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