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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: stem · wind · fan · land · pitcher · cell · arm · hide

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. land — ground
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. land — to come down
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. cell — in biology
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. land — a country
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. cell — a phone
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wind — moving air
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. arm — part of the body

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