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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 · wind · fall · stem · ball · pitcher · roll · stick

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. roll — a list
  4. stem — to come from
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. fall — the season
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. ball — a dance
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. roll — a cake
  24. pitcher — a jug

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