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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 124 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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. foot — a measure
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bat — the animal
  10. fork — in a road
  11. scale — size or range
  12. season — of the year
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. swing — to play on
  15. scale — in music
  16. swing — music
  17. season — in sport
  18. swing — in golf
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. roll — a list

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