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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: last · stem · ground · mug · bat · fan · kid · staff

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — employees
  4. last — to go on
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. kid — to tease
  7. last — finally
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. ground — a position
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. mug — a cup
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. mug — to rob
  16. last — final
  17. mug — a face
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. stem — to come from
  21. ground — the earth
  22. staff — a stick
  23. ground — crushed
  24. kid — child

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