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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: deal · pitcher · race · fan · prune · stem · bowl · cell

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. prune — to trim
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. deal — to handle
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. cell — in biology
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. stem — to come from
  22. race — the arms race
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. cell — a phone

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