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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 120 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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stem — to come from
  6. last — final
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. last — finally
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. clip — to cut
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. clip — a video
  18. bear — the animal
  19. squash — the sport
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. squash — to crush
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. clip — for paper
  24. last — to go on

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