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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: racket · straw · fall · file · swing · stem · mine · mug

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. swing — to play on
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mine — for digging
  7. mug — a face
  8. mug — a cup
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. file — a line of people
  13. swing — in golf
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. file — a tool
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. mug — to rob
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. file — a document
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. fall — the season
  23. swing — music
  24. stem — to come from

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