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

Word bank: bat · fall · cold · rock · rash · present · stem · arm

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. present — there
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. stem — to come from
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. bat — the animal
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rock — a stone
  12. fall — to drop
  13. rash — a series
  14. cold — not warm
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rock — music
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. present — a gift
  21. cold — an illness
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. present — the time now

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