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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. stem — to come from
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. suit — in cards
  5. spring — of water
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. suit — clothes
  8. spring — the season
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. can — a tin
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. march — the month
  13. last — to go on
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. last — final
  16. wind — moving air
  17. last — finally
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. can — to be able to
  23. suit — to fit
  24. can — a tin

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