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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: stem · pop · club · roll · game · deal · swing · land

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. swing — music
  3. game — wild animals
  4. pop — soda
  5. land — a country
  6. pop — music
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. land — ground
  9. pop — to visit
  10. deal — to handle
  11. swing — in golf
  12. club — a group
  13. club — for dancing
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. stem — to come from
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. swing — to play on
  18. roll — a list
  19. game — a match
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. land — to come down
  24. club — for golf

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