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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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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 · cue · trunk · bay · game · scale · bat · spell

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. scale — size or range
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. cue — a signal
  7. cue — a hint
  8. bat — the animal
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. cue — for pool
  14. scale — in music
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — to come from
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. spell — letters
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. game — a match
  21. spell — magic
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. game — a kind of play

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