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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. bat — the animal
  3. stem — to come from
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. deal — to handle
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. pop — music
  16. drill — army training
  17. pop — to visit
  18. drill — the tool
  19. pop — soda
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. drill — a practice
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bat — for baseball

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