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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: wind · deal · temple · racket · stem · prune · suit · bat

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. suit — to fit
  12. stem — to come from
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. suit — clothes
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. deal — to handle
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. suit — in cards
  23. prune — to trim
  24. wind — moving air

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