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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: stem · snap · rash · last · bat · hand · fork · chair

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. hand — help
  5. last — to go on
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. fork — in a road
  8. stem — to come from
  9. bat — the animal
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. snap — to click
  14. chair — a leader
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. rash — hasty
  17. hand — in cards
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. rash — a series
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. last — final
  23. last — finally
  24. chair — to sit on

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