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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. hand — help
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. date — the fruit
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. swing — to play on
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. bound — certain
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. stem — to come from
  13. swing — in golf
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pitch — completely
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. hand — in cards
  19. swing — music
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. bound — obliged
  23. bound — tied together
  24. date — on the calendar

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