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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: fan · ball · root · cell · ground · bat · hand · stem

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. cell — a phone
  3. ground — a position
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. ball — a great time
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. root — of a word
  10. root — of a plant
  11. hand — help
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. bat — the animal
  14. root — the cause
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — the earth
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. hand — in cards
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. ball — a dance
  24. bat — in an idiom

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