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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. wound — an injury
  3. swing — to play on
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. stem — to come from
  6. spring — the season
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. swing — music
  9. net — for catching
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. net — after costs
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — an amount
  14. degree — from a university
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. kick — in football
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. net — in sport
  21. swing — in golf
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — of water
  24. kick — with a leg

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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