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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: bay · cell · stem · game · chest · cabinet · pitcher · lean

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. lean — thin
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stem — to come from
  16. lean — to bend
  17. game — wild animals
  18. chest — a box
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. chest — of your body
  23. game — a match
  24. cell — in biology

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