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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: cell · cold · swing · wake · stem · nail

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. swing — to play on
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. swing — music
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. swing — in golf
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. stem — to come from
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. wake — a trail
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. cold — not warm
  18. nail — for a hammer

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