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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. swing — music
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stem — to come from
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. swing — in golf
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. chip — to eat
  9. bear — the animal
  10. saw — the tool
  11. chip — for betting
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. swing — to play on
  16. chest — a box
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. squash — to crush
  20. bear — the animal
  21. chest — of your body
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. squash — the sport
  24. saw — the tool

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