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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. court — of law
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. court — for sport
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. spring — of water
  8. stem — to come from
  9. branch — a division
  10. cell — in biology
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. spring — a coil
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. game — a match
  16. court — of a king
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. cell — a phone
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. game — wild animals
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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