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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stem · mine · court · fan · file · bat · lash · mouse

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  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. mine — belonging to me
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. court — of law
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a document
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. court — for sport
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. court — of a king
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. file — a tool
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. lash — an eyelash
  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