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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. swing — music
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. rock — music
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. squash — to crush
  9. spring — a coil
  10. swing — in golf
  11. squash — the sport
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. spring — the season
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. band — a ring
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. swing — to play on
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. band — a music group
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. sharp — clever
  23. rock — a stone
  24. spring — of water

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