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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 big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. tube — the underground
  3. net — in sport
  4. spring — a coil
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. perch — the fish
  7. spring — of water
  8. tube — a container
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. spring — the season
  12. wake — a trail
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. net — after costs
  18. stem — to come from
  19. net — for catching
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. kick — in football
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. bat — the animal

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