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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: jam · fine · wind · stem · last · season · bat · scale

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. wind — moving air
  4. season — of the year
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. fine — high quality
  8. last — final
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. scale — in music
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. stem — to come from
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. fine — all right
  20. scale — size or range
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. last — finally
  23. last — to go on
  24. season — in sport

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