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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  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. stem — to come from
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. spell — magic
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. net — after costs
  8. spell — a short time
  9. fork — in a road
  10. cue — a signal
  11. net — for catching
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. cue — a hint
  15. net — in sport
  16. spell — letters
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. bat — the animal
  19. deal — to handle
  20. cue — for pool
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — the earth
  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