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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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. prune — to trim
  3. stem — to come from
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. board — a committee
  7. chip — to eat
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. board — to get on
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. prune — to trim
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. chip — for betting
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — shares
  19. wound — an injury
  20. saw — the tool
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. stem — of a plant

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