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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. swing — to play on
  3. swing — music
  4. tear — from crying
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. stem — to come from
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. squash — the sport
  11. squash — to crush
  12. rock — a stone
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. fork — in a road
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. tear — to rip
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. swing — in golf
  22. date — the fruit
  23. march — music
  24. rock — 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