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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  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. mark — a grade
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. spring — the season
  8. mark — a trace
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. content — the amount
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. bear — the animal
  14. vault — a safe
  15. content — happy
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. season — of the year
  20. bear — the animal
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. file — a line of people
  23. spring — a coil
  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