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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. mark — a trace
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. stem — to come from
  5. row — to paddle
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. mark — a grade
  8. land — a country
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. bat — the animal
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. land — ground
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. row — a line

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