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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. cap — of ice
  4. row — a line
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. cap — a hat
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — in golf
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. hand — help
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. row — to paddle
  14. stem — to come from
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. swing — to play on
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. field — for sport
  21. ball — a dance
  22. hand — in cards
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. cap — a lid

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