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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. spring — the season
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. court — of a king
  7. rest — what's left
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. stock — goods
  10. cell — a phone
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — to come from
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. stock — shares
  15. court — of law
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — a break
  18. court — for sport
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. spring — of water
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. spring — a coil
  24. snap — to click

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