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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. row — a line
  4. row — to paddle
  5. ball — a dance
  6. tube — a container
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. band — a music group
  12. bear — the animal
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. band — a ring
  17. ball — a great time
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. kid — to tease
  20. stem — to come from
  21. tube — the underground
  22. kid — child
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. bear — the animal

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