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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. cap — a lid
  3. row — to paddle
  4. present — there
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. present — a gift
  8. cap — a hat
  9. rash — a series
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. spring — of water
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. present — the time now
  14. cap — of ice
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. ground — a position
  17. row — a line
  18. ground — crushed
  19. rash — hasty
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — a coil
  22. stem — to come from
  23. ground — the earth
  24. wound — an injury

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