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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cap — of ice
  5. root — of a plant
  6. cap — a lid
  7. spring — of water
  8. content — the amount
  9. root — the cause
  10. spring — a coil
  11. plane — a tool
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cell — a phone
  19. root — of a word
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cap — a hat
  22. content — happy
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. plane — an aircraft

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