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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 116 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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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: stem · lean · bat · pitcher · game · clip · craft · fine

  1. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. stem — to come from
  3. game — a match
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. clip — a video
  11. craft — boats
  12. fine — high quality
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — wild animals
  17. fine — all right
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. lean — thin
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. lean — to bend

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