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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 116 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: stand · mark · swing · rock · kid · court · tear · stem

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stem — to come from
  3. rock — music
  4. rock — a stone
  5. court — for sport
  6. tear — to rip
  7. swing — to play on
  8. court — of law
  9. mark — a grade
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. swing — in golf
  14. court — of a king
  15. mark — a trace
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. kid — child
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. tear — from crying
  21. swing — music
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. tear — from crying
  24. stand — to bear

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