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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  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. bat — the animal
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. deal — to handle
  4. ball — a great time
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. saw — the tool
  9. ball — a dance
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. ground — a position
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. ground — the earth
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. kid — child
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. ground — crushed
  22. stem — to come from
  23. deal — an agreement
  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