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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: straw · cabinet · hand · land · stem · game · lie · chest

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  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. stem — a stem cell
  2. hand — in cards
  3. chest — a box
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. game — wild animals
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. stem — to come from
  9. hand — help
  10. game — a match
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. land — ground
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. land — to come down
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. land — a country
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — to recline
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  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