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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. spring — of water
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. spring — the season
  5. stem — to come from
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — in cards
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. game — a match
  17. game — wild animals
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. spring — a coil
  21. sharp — clever
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. leaves — of a tree

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