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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. swing — in golf
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bound — obliged
  5. swing — music
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bound — certain
  8. last — to go on
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. stock — goods
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. bound — tied together
  13. last — final
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. branch — a division
  16. tube — a container
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. swing — to play on
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. stock — shares
  24. last — finally

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