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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. cell — a phone
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. lie — to recline
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. stem — to come from
  8. mine — for digging
  9. wax — to grow
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — the season
  12. can — to be able to
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. stock — shares
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — a tin
  18. cell — in biology
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stock — goods
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stem — of a plant

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