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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 116 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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. stem — to come from
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. rock — music
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. shower — rain
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bat — the animal
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rest — a break
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. tear — to rip
  20. shower — to wash
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. stem — a stem cell

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