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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. row — a line
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. row — to paddle
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bat — the animal
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. pitch — completely
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. fork — in a road
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. jam — in traffic

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