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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 116 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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. mate — to breed
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cap — a lid
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. mate — a partner
  8. cap — a hat
  9. squash — to crush
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — the season
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. squash — the sport
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stand — to bear
  19. cap — of ice
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. spring — of water
  23. mate — a friend
  24. stem — to come from

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