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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bat — the animal
  6. object — a thing
  7. stem — to come from
  8. capital — a city
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. ball — a great time
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. capital — money
  14. chest — a box
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. chest — of your body
  21. object — an aim
  22. squash — the sport
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. squash — to crush

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