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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. board — a committee
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. board — to get on
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. stem — to come from
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. court — for sport
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. land — a country
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. court — of law
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. fork — in a road
  17. bat — the animal
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. court — of a king
  21. land — to come down
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. sharp — clever
  24. land — ground

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