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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. face — part of the head
  3. stem — to come from
  4. last — finally
  5. swing — to play on
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. court — of law
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. swing — in golf
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. rock — music
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — of water
  14. last — to go on
  15. swing — music
  16. face — to point toward
  17. court — for sport
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. court — of a king
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. face — to confront
  23. spring — the season
  24. last — final

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