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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.

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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. swing — to play on
  3. spring — of water
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. swing — in golf
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. spring — a coil
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. spring — the season
  13. snap — to click
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. rush — hurry
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. stem — to come from
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. land — ground
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. swing — music

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