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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. game — a match
  3. bank — for money
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bat — the animal
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. stem — to come from
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bank — of a river
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bank — for money
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. game — wild animals
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — an injury
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. pitcher — a jug

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