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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: swing · spell · bound · net · bear · stem · jam · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Tom got himself in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. bear — the animal
  3. net — in sport
  4. bound — certain
  5. swing — to play on
  6. net — for catching
  7. swing — in golf
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. stem — to come from
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. spell — letters
  14. bound — tied together
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. swing — music
  17. net — after costs
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bound — obliged
  20. kid — child
  21. spell — magic
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. spell — a short time
  24. jam — a tight spot

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