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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. swing — music
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. file — a document
  6. lean — thin
  7. swing — in golf
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. file — a tool
  11. game — a match
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — to come from
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. season — in sport
  17. swing — to play on
  18. file — a line of people
  19. mine — for digging
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. lean — to bend
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. season — of the year
  24. mine — an explosive

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