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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. spring — of water
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. drill — the tool
  6. drill — a practice
  7. net — for catching
  8. band — a music group
  9. spell — a short time
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. drill — army training
  12. spring — a coil
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — for digging
  17. net — after costs
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. band — a ring
  21. spell — magic
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. spell — letters
  24. spring — the season

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