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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. spring — a coil
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. pop — soda
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. spring — of water
  9. pop — music
  10. hand — in cards
  11. spring — the season
  12. pop — to visit
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. lean — to bend
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. lean — thin
  17. stem — to come from
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. hand — help
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. drill — army training
  24. drill — the 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