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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — of water
  3. mate — a friend
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. fall — the season
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a partner
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — to crush
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. craft — boats
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. craft — a skill
  15. fall — to drop
  16. cell — a phone
  17. spring — the season
  18. squash — the sport
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cell — in biology
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. dip — to sink
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. stem — a stem cell

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