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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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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: pop · saw · ball · firm · bat · cold · stem · drill

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. drill — army training
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. cold — an illness
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. pop — music
  8. pop — to visit
  9. ball — a great time
  10. bat — the animal
  11. pop — soda
  12. drill — the tool
  13. firm — a company
  14. firm — steady
  15. firm — decided
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. drill — a practice
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. stem — to come from

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