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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. stem — to come from
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. court — for sport
  6. track — a path
  7. court — of law
  8. track — to keep track
  9. court — of a king
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. plane — a tool
  12. track — a song
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. rash — a series
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. plane — in geometry

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