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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. shower — to wash
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. bear — the animal
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. shower — rain
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — the season
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. bear — the animal
  14. rule — government
  15. last — finally
  16. swing — in golf
  17. rule — a law
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. swing — to play on
  20. spring — of water
  21. last — to go on
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. last — final

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