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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 120 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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Word bank
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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: stem · temple · cold · straw · season · spell · wound · swing

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. spell — letters
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. stem — to come from
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. cold — an illness
  10. wound — an injury
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. cold — not warm
  13. season — in sport
  14. swing — music
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. spell — magic
  17. swing — in golf
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. swing — to play on
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. season — of the year

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