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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: cold · track · swing · wound · stem · court · rash · mug

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. track — a song
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mug — a cup
  5. track — a path
  6. court — of a king
  7. cold — an illness
  8. track — to keep track
  9. rash — hasty
  10. swing — music
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. wound — an injury
  13. rash — a series
  14. mug — a face
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. court — for sport
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. mug — to rob
  20. swing — to play on
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. court — of law
  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