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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  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. stem — a stem cell
  2. swing — in golf
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. root — of a word
  5. stem — to come from
  6. ball — a great time
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. club — for dancing
  9. capital — a city
  10. capital — money
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. root — the cause
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. ball — a dance
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. club — a group
  18. swing — music
  19. root — of a plant
  20. swing — to play on
  21. rule — a law
  22. rule — government
  23. club — for golf
  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