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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: lie · stem · pitcher · cell · bat · rest · mark · kid

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. lie — to recline
  4. stem — to come from
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. kid — to tease
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cell — in biology
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. mark — a trace
  17. kid — child
  18. rest — a break
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. cell — a phone
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. rest — what's left

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