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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. degree — from a university
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. row — a line
  5. can — a tin
  6. can — to be able to
  7. stem — to come from
  8. spring — the season
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. spring — a coil
  11. roll — a cake
  12. roll — a list
  13. wind — moving air
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rock — music
  19. spring — of water
  20. rock — a stone
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — an amount
  24. row — to paddle

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