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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
468
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: cabinet · bat · stem · scale · mine · pound · court · squash

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. court — of law
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. stem — to come from
  7. scale — size or range
  8. court — of a king
  9. scale — in music
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — the animal
  19. mine — for digging
  20. court — for sport
  21. pound — a weight
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. squash — to crush
  24. stem — a stem cell

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