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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 116 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: hand · stem · cell · court · content · fall · cap · charge

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. charge — a price
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — a phone
  6. hand — in cards
  7. stem — to come from
  8. charge — in control
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. court — of a king
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. fall — to drop
  18. charge — electricity
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a lid
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — happy
  24. content — videos and posts

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