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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. bear — the animal
  3. date — the fruit
  4. rock — music
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. squash — the sport
  9. rash — hasty
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. stem — to come from
  13. game — a match
  14. rash — a series
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. game — wild animals
  19. rock — a stone
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bear — 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