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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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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: chest · bat · pop · plane · net · racket · stem · mine

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. mine — for digging
  4. pop — soda
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — after costs
  7. pop — to visit
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. net — for catching
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. bat — the animal
  18. chest — of your body
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. chest — a box
  22. pop — music
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stem — of a plant

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