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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: club · stem · pound · swing · present · bore

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. club — for golf
  3. present — a gift
  4. club — for dancing
  5. swing — to play on
  6. club — a group
  7. swing — music
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. present — the time now
  10. stem — to come from
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. pound — a weight
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. bore — to drill
  16. present — there
  17. swing — in golf
  18. pound — to hit hard

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