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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. ground — the earth
  6. mug — a face
  7. spring — a coil
  8. wound — an injury
  9. mine — for digging
  10. spring — of water
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. cell — in biology
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. ground — a position
  16. mug — a cup
  17. cell — a phone
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. mug — to rob
  22. ground — crushed
  23. stem — to come from
  24. cell — in a prison

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