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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  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. racket — for tennis
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. spring — the season
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. mug — a face
  9. shower — rain
  10. spring — of water
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. stem — to come from
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. shower — to wash
  15. spring — a coil
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. mug — to rob
  21. perch — the fish
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. mug — a cup
  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