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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. swing — in golf
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. degree — from a university
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. march — music
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. swing — to play on
  10. mug — to rob
  11. fine — high quality
  12. stem — to come from
  13. degree — an amount
  14. ground — crushed
  15. mug — a face
  16. fine — all right
  17. march — the month
  18. rush — hurry
  19. degree — temperature
  20. mug — a cup
  21. swing — music
  22. ground — the earth
  23. march — the month
  24. ground — a position

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