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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: stem · squash · pitcher · row · mouse · court · saw · spell

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. squash — the sport
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. squash — to crush
  11. spell — letters
  12. saw — the tool
  13. row — a line
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. row — to paddle
  16. court — of a king
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. court — of law
  20. court — for sport
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spell — magic
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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