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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. spring — of water
  4. mug — a cup
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. spring — a coil
  8. deal — to handle
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. cold — not warm
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. capital — money
  13. stem — to come from
  14. bear — the animal
  15. cold — an illness
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. spring — the season
  18. capital — a city
  19. chair — a leader
  20. mug — to rob
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. mug — a face
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. bear — to put up with

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