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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  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. swing — to play on
  2. object — an aim
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — a series
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — of water
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a tool
  9. fine — all right
  10. swing — in golf
  11. wake — a trail
  12. swing — music
  13. fine — high quality
  14. file — a document
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. object — to protest
  18. object — a thing
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. spring — the season
  23. rash — on the skin
  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