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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. stem — to come from
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — to play on
  8. club — a group
  9. wind — moving air
  10. tube — a container
  11. face — to point toward
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. swing — music
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. club — for dancing
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. season — in sport
  18. wind — moving air
  19. face — to confront
  20. season — of the year
  21. face — part of the head
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — a phone

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