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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. mate — a partner
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. spring — of water
  6. key — for a lock
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. ground — crushed
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. cold — an illness
  13. key — in music
  14. spring — the season
  15. mate — a friend
  16. ground — the earth
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. mate — to breed
  19. cold — not warm
  20. key — the most important part
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. ground — a position
  23. stem — to come from
  24. fan — a supporter

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