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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: wind · mate · stem · hide · pop · fork · arm · perch

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. wind — moving air
  3. mate — a partner
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. wind — moving air
  6. mate — a friend
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. pop — music
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. pop — to visit
  13. fork — in a road
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. stem — to come from
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. pop — soda
  24. stem — a stem cell

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