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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: kid · toast · spell · swing · bay · mark · march · stem

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. toast — bread
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. swing — to play on
  11. kid — to tease
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. mark — a trace
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. stem — to come from
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spell — letters
  20. swing — in golf
  21. march — music
  22. swing — music
  23. spell — magic
  24. mark — a grade

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