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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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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: racket · season · stem · chest · clip · swing · cue · temple

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. season — of the year
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cue — a hint
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. stem — to come from
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. cue — for pool
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. chest — of your body
  14. swing — to play on
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. season — in sport
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. cue — a signal
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. chest — a box
  23. swing — music
  24. swing — in golf

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