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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.

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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: perch · stem · leaves · mine · swing · pound · snap · band

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. pound — a weight
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. perch — the fish
  7. swing — music
  8. stem — to come from
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. mine — for digging
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. swing — in golf
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. band — a ring
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. band — a music group
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. swing — to play on
  21. snap — to click
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. leaves — of a tree

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