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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: chest · ball · bat · spell · mate · season · stem · cap

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. season — of the year
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. spell — a short time
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. ball — a great time
  12. cap — a hat
  13. season — in sport
  14. mate — a partner
  15. spell — letters
  16. stem — to come from
  17. mate — to breed
  18. ball — a dance
  19. cap — of ice
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. spell — magic
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. chest — of your body

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