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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. land — a country
  3. spring — the season
  4. stem — to come from
  5. craft — boats
  6. ground — crushed
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. spring — of water
  10. current — happening now
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. craft — a skill
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of law
  15. march — music
  16. current — electric
  17. ground — a position
  18. march — the month
  19. current — of water
  20. march — the month
  21. land — to come down
  22. ground — the earth
  23. court — of a king
  24. land — ground

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