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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 124 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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. rock — a stone
  6. bat — the animal
  7. squash — to crush
  8. saw — the tool
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. march — the month
  12. squash — the sport
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. spell — letters
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. stem — to come from
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. roll — a list
  22. rock — music
  23. saw — the tool
  24. spell — magic

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