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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — music
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stock — goods
  5. degree — from a university
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. bear — the animal
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. degree — temperature
  10. kid — child
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. stock — shares
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. kid — to tease
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. lean — thin
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. degree — an amount
  20. lean — to bend
  21. swing — in golf
  22. bear — the animal
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. lean — to rest against

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