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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rock — a stone
  3. stem — to come from
  4. season — in sport
  5. season — of the year
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. rush — hurry
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. row — a line
  11. rock — music
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. shower — to wash
  17. spring — the season
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. row — to paddle
  22. shower — rain
  23. spring — of water
  24. rush — to hurry

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