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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. bear — the animal
  3. staff — a stick
  4. cold — an illness
  5. rest — what's left
  6. staff — employees
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. spring — a coil
  9. court — of a king
  10. stem — to come from
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — a break
  13. court — for sport
  14. spring — of water
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bear — the animal
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. spring — the season
  24. staff — employees

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