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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 120 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: wound · club · stem · cabinet · plane · spell · racket · chest

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stem — to come from
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. plane — a tool
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — a group
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. chest — of your body
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. wound — an injury
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. club — for dancing
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. spell — a short time
  22. chest — a box
  23. spell — letters
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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