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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 120 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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. track — to keep track
  3. staff — employees
  4. spring — of water
  5. dip — to sink
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. track — a path
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. track — a song
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. staff — employees
  13. bat — the animal
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. spring — a coil
  20. staff — a stick
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. hand — in cards
  23. spring — the season
  24. hand — help

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