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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. spring — of water
  4. stem — to come from
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. spring — a coil
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mine — for digging
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mate — a friend
  13. can — a tin
  14. spring — the season
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. snap — to click
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. can — to be able to
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. stand — to bear
  23. can — a tin
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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