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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: swing · game · season · mug · stem · spring · mouse · march

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — to come from
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — wild animals
  6. mug — a cup
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mug — to rob
  9. season — of the year
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. march — the month
  12. spring — a coil
  13. march — music
  14. spring — the season
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. game — a match
  17. spring — of water
  18. swing — in golf
  19. march — the month
  20. swing — music
  21. season — in sport
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. swing — to play on
  24. mug — a face

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