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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: cell · stem · pop · clip · bowl · swing

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. pop — music
  3. clip — for paper
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cell — in biology
  6. swing — to play on
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. clip — a video
  9. cell — a phone
  10. pop — soda
  11. pop — to visit
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. stem — to come from
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. swing — music

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