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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 116 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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  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. swing — music
  2. hand — help
  3. spell — magic
  4. hand — in cards
  5. wind — moving air
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. wind — moving air
  9. degree — an amount
  10. spell — letters
  11. degree — temperature
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. mug — a face
  14. stem — to come from
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — in golf
  17. degree — from a university
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. mug — to rob
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. spell — a short time
  23. mug — a cup
  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