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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. firm — a company
  3. charge — a price
  4. spring — of water
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. bat — the animal
  8. charge — electricity
  9. firm — steady
  10. cold — not warm
  11. row — to paddle
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. spring — a coil
  14. charge — in control
  15. stem — to come from
  16. row — a line
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. firm — decided
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. cold — an illness
  24. row — a quarrel

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