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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rock · bat · object · stem · present · row · file · mug

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  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. object — to protest
  2. present — a gift
  3. mug — to rob
  4. row — to paddle
  5. object — an aim
  6. stem — to come from
  7. bat — the animal
  8. rock — a stone
  9. mug — a cup
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. row — a line
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. present — there
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. mug — a face
  17. file — a document
  18. object — a thing
  19. file — a tool
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. rock — music
  22. file — a line of people
  23. stem — a stem cell
  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