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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 · chest · hand · mine · coach · wind · mouse · stem

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. stem — to come from
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. cell — in biology
  7. hand — help
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — in cards
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. wind — moving air
  20. chest — of your body
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. chest — a box
  24. mine — for digging

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