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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: row · face · racket · stem · fan · pass · bat · game

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bat — the animal
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. pass — a permit
  6. row — a line
  7. face — part of the head
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. game — wild animals
  10. face — to confront
  11. row — to paddle
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — to come from
  19. face — to point toward
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. game — a match
  24. bat — for baseball

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