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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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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: drill · toast · swing · trunk · spring · net · stem · wake

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. swing — in golf
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. spring — a coil
  6. net — in sport
  7. toast — bread
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. net — for catching
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. spring — the season
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. drill — army training
  14. net — after costs
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. stem — to come from
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. drill — a practice
  23. spring — of water
  24. drill — the tool

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