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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: spell · arm · stem · chip · rest · row · bat · ball

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. rest — a break
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. bat — the animal
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. row — to paddle
  8. ball — a dance
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. rest — what's left
  11. spell — magic
  12. chip — to eat
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. rest — what's left
  16. stem — to come from
  17. row — a line
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. spell — letters
  20. ball — a great time
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. chip — for betting
  24. spell — a short time

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