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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. stem — to come from
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. chip — for betting
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. row — a line
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. row — to paddle
  13. wake — a trail
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. bat — the animal
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. chip — to eat
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. prune — the fruit

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