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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  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. key — for a lock
  2. tube — a container
  3. bank — for money
  4. stem — to come from
  5. row — a line
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bat — the animal
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bank — for money
  12. bank — of a river
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. kid — to tease
  15. club — a group
  16. club — for dancing
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. row — to paddle
  20. club — for golf
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. key — the most important part
  23. key — in music
  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