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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — the season
  3. stem — to come from
  4. mug — to rob
  5. capital — money
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. chip — for betting
  8. court — for sport
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. capital — a city
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. court — of a king
  14. spring — a coil
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. bear — the animal
  18. mug — a cup
  19. bear — the animal
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. court — of law
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — to eat
  24. mug — a face

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