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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. swing — to play on
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. roll — a cake
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. stem — to come from
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. drill — a practice
  9. can — a tin
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. swing — music
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. drill — the tool
  14. drill — army training
  15. can — to be able to
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. cold — an illness
  18. swing — in golf
  19. cold — not warm
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. rush — hurry
  22. can — a tin
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. roll — a list

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