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

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ball — a dance
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — of water
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. deal — to handle
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — a break
  11. rest — what's left
  12. clip — for paper
  13. land — a country
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. spring — the season
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. land — to come down
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — a video
  23. land — ground
  24. stem — to come from

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