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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. mate — a friend
  3. rash — a series
  4. stand — to bear
  5. mate — to breed
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. court — for sport
  8. spring — the season
  9. rash — hasty
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — the fruit
  12. mate — a partner
  13. spring — of water
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. court — of a king
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bat — the animal
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. court — of law
  24. stand — for spectators

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