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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 · board · swing · trunk · row · stand · prune · spring

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. cell — in biology
  3. row — a line
  4. prune — to trim
  5. board — a committee
  6. cell — a phone
  7. prune — to trim
  8. spring — of water
  9. swing — in golf
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. spring — a coil
  14. board — to get on
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. stand — to bear
  17. spring — the season
  18. row — to paddle
  19. swing — to play on
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. prune — the fruit

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