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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hand · craft · stem · spring · bat · firm

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. spring — of water
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. firm — a company
  5. bat — the animal
  6. stem — to come from
  7. spring — a coil
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. hand — help
  10. craft — boats
  11. firm — decided
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. spring — the season
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. craft — a skill
  18. hand — in cards

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