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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: sharp · date · racket · trunk · mark · stem · swing · patient

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. sharp — clever
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. mark — a trace
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. swing — in golf
  16. stem — to come from
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. date — the fruit
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. mark — a grade
  22. swing — music
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. stem — a stem cell

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