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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. ground — crushed
  5. spring — the season
  6. current — electric
  7. spring — of water
  8. current — of water
  9. fork — in a road
  10. ground — a position
  11. current — happening now
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. spring — a coil
  16. stem — to come from
  17. ground — the earth
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. spell — magic
  23. spell — a short time
  24. mouse — the animal

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