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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. spring — of water
  3. rock — a stone
  4. bulb — for light
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. spring — a coil
  7. stem — to come from
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. chip — to eat
  10. court — of law
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. scale — size or range
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — for sport
  15. rock — music
  16. scale — in music
  17. spring — the season
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. chip — for betting
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. bulb — for light
  24. stem — a stem cell

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