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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. stem — to come from
  3. spring — a coil
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. object — an aim
  8. wind — moving air
  9. object — a thing
  10. club — for golf
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bulb — for light
  15. pound — a weight
  16. wind — moving air
  17. club — for dancing
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. bulb — for light
  20. club — a group
  21. chip — for betting
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. chip — to eat
  24. chip — in a computer

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