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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. spring — of water
  6. pop — music
  7. stem — to come from
  8. ball — a dance
  9. spring — the season
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — in sport
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. wound — an injury
  15. season — of the year
  16. pop — to visit
  17. wound — an injury
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. ball — a great time
  20. deal — to handle
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bore — to drill
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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