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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. ground — crushed
  4. last — finally
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. file — a document
  11. bat — the animal
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. last — to go on
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ball — a dance
  17. file — a tool
  18. last — final
  19. ground — a position
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. ball — a great time
  24. mouse — the animal

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