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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: rush · stem · mark · ball · bat · lash · ground · spell

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ground — a position
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ground — the earth
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. rush — hurry
  10. ground — crushed
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. mark — a trace
  14. spell — magic
  15. stem — to come from
  16. spell — letters
  17. mark — a grade
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bat — the animal
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. ball — a dance
  24. stem — of a plant

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