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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 120 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: stem · board · sharp · kid · chest · row · cell · land

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. land — ground
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — clever
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. board — to get on
  7. kid — child
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. chest — a box
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — a country
  12. stem — to come from
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — a phone
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. kid — to tease
  19. row — a line
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. board — a committee
  24. cell — in biology

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