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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: capital · safe · rush · clip · bat · stem · swing · spring

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. capital — money
  3. spring — a coil
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. clip — a video
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. swing — in golf
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bat — the animal
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. spring — of water
  15. capital — a city
  16. swing — to play on
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. clip — for paper
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. stem — to come from
  23. swing — music
  24. rush — hurry

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