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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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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 · straw · bowl · chip · pound · swing · prune · capital

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. swing — to play on
  3. capital — a city
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. prune — to trim
  7. pound — a weight
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. swing — in golf
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. chip — for betting
  15. swing — music
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. capital — money
  21. chip — to eat
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. stem — to come from
  24. chip — in a computer

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