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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. spell — letters
  3. cap — of ice
  4. prune — to trim
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. wound — an injury
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. net — in sport
  9. bat — the animal
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. stem — to come from
  13. net — for catching
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stand — to bear
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — a hat
  20. net — after costs
  21. wound — an injury
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — magic
  24. bat — in an idiom

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