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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: bowl · hand · stem · present · club · plane · saw · roll

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. roll — a list
  3. present — a gift
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. roll — a cake
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — help
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. club — for dancing
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. stem — to come from
  18. saw — the tool
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. present — there
  21. club — a group
  22. present — the time now
  23. plane — a tool
  24. saw — 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