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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. row — a line
  3. squash — to crush
  4. key — the most important part
  5. stem — to come from
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. swing — in golf
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. cell — a phone
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. cell — in biology
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. ground — the earth
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. swing — music
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. key — for a lock
  19. row — to paddle
  20. ground — a position
  21. swing — to play on
  22. squash — the sport
  23. key — in music
  24. stem — a stem cell

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