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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. squash — to crush
  3. roll — a cake
  4. roll — a list
  5. cold — an illness
  6. club — a group
  7. squash — the sport
  8. spring — a coil
  9. wake — a trail
  10. stem — to come from
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. spring — the season
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. staff — employees
  15. club — for dancing
  16. spring — of water
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. staff — employees
  22. cold — not warm
  23. staff — a stick
  24. club — for golf

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