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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 120 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. spring — the season
  4. bank — of a river
  5. bank — for money
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. last — to go on
  8. spring — of water
  9. spring — a coil
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. file — a tool
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. last — final
  15. swing — music
  16. bank — for money
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. swing — in golf
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. file — a document
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. stem — to come from
  23. last — finally
  24. file — a line of people

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