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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. land — ground
  3. track — a path
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. land — to come down
  6. track — a song
  7. spring — the season
  8. swing — music
  9. squash — to crush
  10. lean — to bend
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — a coil
  13. stem — to come from
  14. swing — in golf
  15. lean — thin
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. swing — to play on
  18. chip — for betting
  19. track — to keep track
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. land — a country
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. chip — to eat
  24. chip — in a computer

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