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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 116 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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. swing — in golf
  3. stem — to come from
  4. cell — a phone
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pitch — completely
  9. sharp — clever
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. swing — to play on
  14. bank — for money
  15. cell — in biology
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. swing — music
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. spring — the season
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. bank — for money
  23. spring — of water
  24. bat — for baseball

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