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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 116 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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pop — soda
  4. swing — in golf
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. row — a line
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. band — a ring
  11. spring — of water
  12. band — a music group
  13. wound — an injury
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — a coil
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. swing — to play on
  18. stem — to come from
  19. swing — music
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. pop — music
  23. row — to paddle
  24. wave — of the sea

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