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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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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: stem · squash · march · saw · hide · spring · kid · swing

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. saw — the tool
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. spring — of water
  6. saw — the tool
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. spring — a coil
  9. march — the month
  10. spring — the season
  11. stem — to come from
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. swing — to play on
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. squash — the sport
  18. march — the month
  19. kid — child
  20. swing — in golf
  21. squash — to crush
  22. swing — music
  23. kid — to tease
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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