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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: stem · leaves · saw · swing · lash · march · mine · chest

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  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. saw — the tool
  2. swing — music
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. swing — to play on
  7. chest — of your body
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. saw — the tool
  11. stem — to come from
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. mine — for digging
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. chest — of your body
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. march — music
  20. chest — a box
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. lash — an eyelash
  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