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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. spring — the season
  3. wind — moving air
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. staff — employees
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. bear — the animal
  9. fall — the season
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. fall — to drop
  12. root — the cause
  13. staff — a stick
  14. staff — employees
  15. wind — moving air
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. vault — a safe
  18. spring — a coil
  19. root — of a plant
  20. spring — of water
  21. bear — the animal
  22. root — of a word
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. fall — to drop

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