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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: stand · scale · drill · game · stem · spell · can · cell

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. stem — to come from
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. can — a tin
  6. stand — to bear
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. game — a match
  10. can — a tin
  11. drill — the tool
  12. game — wild animals
  13. spell — magic
  14. cell — a phone
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. can — to be able to
  17. spell — a short time
  18. drill — army training
  19. spell — letters
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. drill — a practice
  22. cell — in biology
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — size or range

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