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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: stem · bat · bark · object · coach · jam · straw · fan

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. object — an aim
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. object — to protest
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. bark — to shout
  18. stem — to come from
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. object — a thing

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