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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: stem · prune · cell · deal · fan · drill · hand · racket

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. drill — the tool
  7. deal — to handle
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. drill — a practice
  10. hand — in cards
  11. drill — army training
  12. prune — to trim
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. cell — in biology
  18. cell — a phone
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. hand — help

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