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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. band — a music group
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. ball — a great time
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. band — a ring
  8. chest — of your body
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. chest — a box
  11. spring — the season
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. lean — to bend
  15. swing — to play on
  16. lean — thin
  17. spring — of water
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. ball — a dance
  20. chest — of your body
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. swing — music
  24. spring — a coil

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