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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: stem · deal · last · jam · court · hand · wound · dip

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. hand — help
  7. dip — to sink
  8. court — for sport
  9. last — to go on
  10. wound — an injury
  11. court — of a king
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. wound — an injury
  15. last — finally
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. hand — in cards
  18. stem — to come from
  19. deal — to handle
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. court — of law
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. last — final
  24. hand — part of the body

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