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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: rash · kid · ball · fork · stem · stick · chest · spell

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. rash — a series
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. spell — letters
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. chest — of your body
  9. stem — to come from
  10. ball — a great time
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. ball — a dance
  13. chest — of your body
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. chest — a box
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. spell — a short time
  19. rash — hasty
  20. spell — magic
  21. kid — to tease
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. kid — child
  24. fork — in a road

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