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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. spring — a coil
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. spring — of water
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pop — music
  7. spell — a short time
  8. game — a match
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. spell — letters
  14. spell — magic
  15. pop — soda
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. pop — to visit
  23. spring — the season
  24. cabinet — ministers

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