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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 116 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: fan · bat · mouse · ground · clip · stem · perch · ball

  1. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. clip — to cut
  4. ball — a great time
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. clip — for paper
  7. ground — a position
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. stem — to come from
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. ground — crushed
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bat — the animal
  16. ground — the earth
  17. perch — the fish
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. clip — a video
  22. ball — a dance
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. bat — in an idiom

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