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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stand — to bear
  3. net — in sport
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. swing — to play on
  6. net — after costs
  7. stem — to come from
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. swing — music
  12. spring — of water
  13. ball — a dance
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. spring — the season
  16. ball — a great time
  17. net — for catching
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. swing — in golf
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. spring — a coil

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