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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 116 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. deal — to handle
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. spring — the season
  6. file — a document
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. spring — of water
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. file — a line of people
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. file — a tool

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