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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: wound · cell · swing · kick · stem · lash

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. swing — music
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wound — an injury
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. swing — in golf
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. stem — to come from
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. kick — in football
  16. swing — to play on
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wound — an injury

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