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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: drill · pop · wake · date · deal · stem · cell · fork

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. pop — music
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — the tool
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. drill — a practice
  13. cell — a phone
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. date — the fruit
  16. stem — to come from
  17. wake — a trail
  18. deal — to handle
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. pop — to visit
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. cell — in biology
  23. fork — in a road
  24. pop — soda

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