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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — a coil
  4. ball — a dance
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. row — to paddle
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. row — a line
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. pop — to visit
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. pop — soda
  15. pop — music
  16. mark — a grade
  17. mark — a trace
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. stem — to come from
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. spring — the season
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. ball — a great time

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