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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: rash · stand · spring · stem · jam · key · bat · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. last — final
  3. spring — of water
  4. stand — to bear
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. key — in music
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. last — to go on
  16. rash — a series
  17. key — for a lock
  18. stem — to come from
  19. rash — hasty
  20. spring — the season
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. bat — the animal
  23. key — the most important part
  24. stem — a stem cell

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