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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: mine · snap · rest · cold · cell · date · club · stem

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. rest — what's left
  5. mine — for digging
  6. club — a group
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. date — the fruit
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — not warm
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. cold — an illness
  15. club — for golf
  16. club — for dancing
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. rest — what's left
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. rest — a break
  21. cell — in biology
  22. stem — to come from
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. snap — to click

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