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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: swing · staff · march · fork · kid · stem

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. kid — to tease
  3. staff — employees
  4. swing — music
  5. march — the month
  6. swing — in golf
  7. fork — in a road
  8. staff — employees
  9. march — music
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. march — the month
  12. kid — child
  13. swing — to play on
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. staff — a stick
  17. stem — to come from
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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