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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. spring — the season
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. band — a ring
  6. content — happy
  7. stem — to come from
  8. foot — a measure
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. spring — of water
  11. band — a music group
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. spring — a coil
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. content — the amount
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. cell — in biology
  18. capital — a city
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. capital — money
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. mouse — for a computer

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