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

Word bank: straw · bear · fine · swing · stem · race

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bear — the animal
  3. stem — to come from
  4. race — a contest
  5. fine — all right
  6. race — the arms race
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. fine — high quality
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. bear — the animal
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. swing — to play on
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. swing — in golf
  17. swing — music
  18. race — humankind

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