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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 120 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: bowl · stem · bass · present · arm · bat · rest · kid

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. present — a gift
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. present — there
  13. present — the time now
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. rest — a break
  16. bass — low music
  17. stem — to come from
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. bat — the animal
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. kid — child
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. rest — what's left

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