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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: club · racket · drill · date · present · cold · stem · chest

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — there
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. cold — not warm
  7. chest — of your body
  8. present — the time now
  9. date — the fruit
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. stem — to come from
  12. chest — a box
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. chest — of your body
  15. club — a group
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. drill — army training
  18. club — for golf
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. drill — a practice
  22. club — for dancing
  23. cold — an illness
  24. drill — the tool

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