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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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. hand — help
  4. cue — a hint
  5. fine — all right
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. swing — to play on
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. fine — high quality
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. cue — for pool
  14. stock — shares
  15. swing — in golf
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bound — obliged
  18. stock — goods
  19. hand — in cards
  20. bound — certain
  21. cue — a signal
  22. stem — to come from
  23. bound — tied together
  24. stem — a stem cell

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