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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. season — in sport
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. spring — of water
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — in biology
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. tube — a container
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bank — of a river
  12. season — of the year
  13. stem — to come from
  14. rash — hasty
  15. spring — a coil
  16. rash — a series
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. bank — for money
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. spring — the season
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. bank — for money
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. tube — the underground

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