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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. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. bulb — for light
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. spring — a coil
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. spring — of water
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stem — to come from
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. last — to go on
  15. wind — moving air
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. last — final
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. last — finally
  20. bulb — for light
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. spring — the season
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. perch — the fish

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