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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: tube · bat · charge · stem · spring · object · swing · last

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. swing — to play on
  3. object — to protest
  4. spring — a coil
  5. tube — a container
  6. swing — music
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. last — finally
  9. object — a thing
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. object — an aim
  12. last — to go on
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. charge — electricity
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. charge — in control
  17. bat — the animal
  18. stem — to come from
  19. last — final
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. swing — in golf
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. charge — a price

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