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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 116 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. bank — for money
  3. spring — the season
  4. wake — a trail
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. court — of a king
  7. bank — for money
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. court — for sport
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. spring — a coil
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. sharp — clever
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. bank — of a river
  22. court — of law
  23. spring — of water
  24. sharp — exactly

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