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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: bat · stem · wound · roll · chair · nail · suit · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. stem — to come from
  4. wound — an injury
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. roll — a cake
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. roll — a list
  10. kid — to tease
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. wound — an injury
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. suit — clothes
  19. suit — to fit
  20. suit — in cards
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — the animal
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. chair — a professorship

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