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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. snap — to click
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. pop — to visit
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. land — ground
  8. mark — a trace
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. land — a country
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. bat — the animal
  16. stem — to come from
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. land — to come down
  20. pop — soda
  21. date — the fruit
  22. pop — music
  23. mark — a grade
  24. stem — a stem cell

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