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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 116 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: lean · stem · cap · straw · pitch · spring · rock · swing

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. swing — to play on
  3. cap — a lid
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. rock — a stone
  7. lean — thin
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a hat
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. spring — the season
  13. pitch — completely
  14. stem — to come from
  15. spring — of water
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. swing — in golf
  19. lean — to bend
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. spring — a coil
  22. swing — music
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. lean — to rest against

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