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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. stem — to come from
  5. ground — a position
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — music
  9. spring — of water
  10. chip — for betting
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. spring — a coil
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. chip — to eat
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. ball — a dance
  17. spring — the season
  18. ball — a great time
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ground — crushed
  22. dip — to sink
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. wax — to grow

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