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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: bass · stem · wound · leaves · club · swing · mate · rule

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  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. club — a group
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. mate — a friend
  4. wound — an injury
  5. rule — government
  6. mate — a partner
  7. bass — the fish
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. swing — in golf
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. swing — music
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. club — for dancing
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. swing — to play on
  20. mate — to breed
  21. wound — an injury
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. rule — a law
  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