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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. spring — the season
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. tube — the underground
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. tube — a container
  9. spring — a coil
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. spring — of water
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. stem — to come from
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — the sport
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. date — the fruit

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