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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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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 · stem · staff · perch · land · mine · content · mate

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  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. stem — a stem cell
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. land — a country
  4. staff — a stick
  5. content — the amount
  6. cell — in biology
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. mate — to breed
  11. land — to come down
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. staff — employees
  15. mate — a partner
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. content — happy
  18. mate — a friend
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. staff — employees
  21. stem — to come from
  22. perch — the fish
  23. land — ground
  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