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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. game — a match
  11. swing — music
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. game — wild animals
  14. tube — a container
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. tube — the underground
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. stem — to come from
  24. swing — in golf

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