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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. can — a tin
  4. club — for golf
  5. net — in sport
  6. band — a music group
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. can — a tin
  9. club — for dancing
  10. stem — to come from
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. can — to be able to
  13. bat — the animal
  14. net — for catching
  15. prune — to trim
  16. club — a group
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a ring
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. prune — to trim
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. net — after costs
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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