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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. lie — to recline
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pop — music
  5. plane — a tool
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. pop — soda
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. spring — a coil
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. spring — the season
  23. racket — for tennis
  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