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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: spring · sharp · swing · stem · pop · cap · bat · club

  1. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. pop — to visit
  3. stem — to come from
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — soda
  8. club — a group
  9. spring — a coil
  10. bat — the animal
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. spring — the season
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. spring — of water
  15. club — for dancing
  16. cap — of ice
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — clever
  19. swing — music
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. swing — to play on
  23. club — for golf
  24. cap — a hat

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