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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 120 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 · bore · march · cold · bat · wave · stick · perch

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. bat — the animal
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. march — the month
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bore — to tire
  16. perch — the fish
  17. march — the month
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bore — to drill
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. march — music
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. cold — not warm

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