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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: stem · present · mate · swing · chest · cold · wind · stand

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. cold — an illness
  4. swing — to play on
  5. wind — moving air
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. present — the time now
  9. swing — music
  10. chest — a box
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. mate — to breed
  13. mate — a partner
  14. swing — in golf
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. cold — not warm
  17. stem — to come from
  18. present — a gift
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. stand — to bear
  22. chest — of your body
  23. present — there
  24. mate — a friend

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