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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. spring — of water
  3. wind — moving air
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. rock — music
  12. board — to get on
  13. spring — a coil
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. board — a committee
  17. spring — the season
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wind — moving air
  23. stem — to come from
  24. rock — to move gently

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