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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spell — magic
  3. snap — to click
  4. spell — letters
  5. stem — to come from
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. lean — to bend
  9. spring — the season
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — goods
  13. spring — of water
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. spell — a short time
  19. lean — thin
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. dip — to sink
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. stem — of a plant

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