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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. stem — to come from
  4. net — in sport
  5. key — in music
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. swing — music
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. net — after costs
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. spring — a coil
  13. key — for a lock
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. swing — to play on
  17. swing — in golf
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. net — for catching
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. key — the most important part
  22. spring — the season
  23. squash — to crush
  24. pound — a weight

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