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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: trunk · wind · swing · clip · pitch · race · bowl · stem

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. race — humankind
  4. wind — moving air
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. clip — a video
  7. swing — music
  8. race — the arms race
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. race — a contest
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. pitch — completely
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bowl — to roll

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