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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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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: bank · hand · saw · stem · lean · cell · mine · chest

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. chest — of your body
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. cell — a phone
  5. lean — to bend
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bank — for money
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bank — for money
  10. hand — in cards
  11. chest — a box
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. mine — for digging
  14. chest — of your body
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. hand — help
  17. stem — to come from
  18. lean — thin
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bank — of a river
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. stem — of a plant

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