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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. bark — to shout
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mark — a trace
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. spring — the season
  13. capital — a city
  14. land — a country
  15. stem — to come from
  16. mark — a grade
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. spring — a coil
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — ground
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. capital — money
  24. stem — a stem cell

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