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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: bound · wave · bat · cap · stem · kid · net · stand

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. bound — obliged
  3. stem — to come from
  4. kid — child
  5. net — for catching
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. net — in sport
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. bound — certain
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cap — a lid
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. bound — tied together
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — of ice
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. stand — to bear
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. net — after costs
  24. bat — the animal

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