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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: cell · cold · pound · ball · tube · stem · land · spell

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. ball — a dance
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. stem — to come from
  7. cold — an illness
  8. tube — a container
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. spell — letters
  11. pound — a weight
  12. ball — a great time
  13. spell — a short time
  14. tube — the underground
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. land — to come down
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in biology
  20. land — a country
  21. land — ground
  22. spell — magic
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. cold — not warm

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