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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. spring — of water
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. kid — to tease
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. toast — bread
  13. stem — to come from
  14. row — to paddle
  15. spring — the season
  16. row — a line
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. spring — a coil
  24. squash — to crush

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