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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: clip · row · squash · jam · wake · bat · stem · bowl

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. clip — for paper
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. wake — a trail
  10. squash — to crush
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. row — a line
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. bat — the animal
  18. stem — to come from
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. clip — a video
  24. bat — in an idiom

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