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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 120 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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. spring — of water
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. ground — the earth
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. court — of law
  7. spring — a coil
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. spring — the season
  10. stem — to come from
  11. ground — crushed
  12. tube — the underground
  13. court — for sport
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — clever
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. ground — a position
  21. tube — a container
  22. court — of a king
  23. mark — a grade
  24. mark — a trace

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