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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: swing · straw · degree · drill · stem · saw · object · clip

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. clip — for paper
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. drill — army training
  6. degree — temperature
  7. swing — music
  8. clip — to cut
  9. drill — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. object — an aim
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. object — a thing
  14. swing — in golf
  15. degree — from a university
  16. clip — a video
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. saw — the tool
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. swing — to play on
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. drill — a practice
  23. degree — an amount
  24. object — to protest

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