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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. swing — music
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. swing — in golf
  6. rash — hasty
  7. sharp — clever
  8. swing — to play on
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. stem — to come from
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. spring — a coil
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. saw — the tool
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. spring — the season
  19. saw — the tool
  20. rash — a series
  21. fall — to drop
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. spring — of water

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