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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. stem — to come from
  3. staff — employees
  4. roll — a list
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. spring — the season
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. roll — a cake
  9. spring — of water
  10. sharp — clever
  11. ground — a position
  12. staff — employees
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. ground — crushed
  15. spring — a coil
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. staff — a stick
  18. ground — the earth

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