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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. rash — hasty
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. lean — to bend
  5. rash — a series
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. stem — to come from
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. lean — thin
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bat — the animal
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. capital — money
  22. capital — a city
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — a 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