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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. charge — electricity
  4. pop — soda
  5. charge — in control
  6. ground — a position
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. cap — of ice
  9. land — a country
  10. ground — crushed
  11. land — ground
  12. stem — to come from
  13. pop — music
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — a lid
  16. ground — the earth
  17. land — to come down
  18. pop — to visit
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. charge — a price
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. stem — a stem cell

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