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

Word bank: swing · stem · season · kick · bear · pound

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. swing — to play on
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — music
  12. stem — to come from
  13. season — of the year
  14. kick — in football
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pound — a weight
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. season — in sport

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