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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 120 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. game — a match
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. club — for dancing
  5. stock — goods
  6. present — the time now
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. swing — in golf
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bat — the animal
  13. club — for golf
  14. swing — music
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. club — a group
  17. present — a gift
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. stock — shares
  23. game — wild animals
  24. present — there

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