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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  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. fork — a garden tool
  2. ground — a position
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — to drop
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bat — the animal
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. mine — for digging
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. ground — the earth
  18. fall — the season
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. stem — to come from
  22. fork — in a road
  23. ground — crushed
  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