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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. bat — the animal
  3. fork — in a road
  4. content — the amount
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. club — a group
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. content — happy
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. club — for golf
  13. stem — to come from
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. club — for dancing
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — for digging

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