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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. stem — to come from
  4. spring — of water
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bulb — for light
  9. court — for sport
  10. wake — a trail
  11. clip — to cut
  12. court — of law
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. staff — a stick
  16. clip — a video
  17. staff — employees
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bear — the animal
  21. spring — the season
  22. staff — employees
  23. clip — for paper
  24. court — of a king

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