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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — the season
  7. stem — to come from
  8. band — a music group
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — for catching
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. band — a ring
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. spring — of water
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

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