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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: rest · cell · staff · mark · spell · tube · bat · stem

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. mark — a grade
  3. stem — to come from
  4. staff — employees
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. rest — what's left
  7. cell — a phone
  8. spell — letters
  9. staff — employees
  10. spell — magic
  11. staff — a stick
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bat — the animal
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. mark — a trace
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. rest — what's left
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tube — a container
  22. spell — a short time
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. rest — a break

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