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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. swing — music
  4. stock — shares
  5. swing — to play on
  6. kick — in football
  7. spring — of water
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. swing — in golf
  10. spring — the season
  11. bark — to shout
  12. cell — in biology
  13. club — for dancing
  14. club — a group
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. spring — a coil
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — a phone
  21. club — for golf
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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