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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 116 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: stem · swing · saw · season · pop · hand · bore · bowl

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. swing — in golf
  4. hand — help
  5. bore — to tire
  6. pop — to visit
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. pop — music
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. swing — to play on
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. pop — soda
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bore — to drill
  19. swing — music
  20. saw — the tool
  21. season — of the year
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. season — in sport

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