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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. spring — the season
  5. pop — to visit
  6. degree — temperature
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. spring — a coil
  9. row — a line
  10. tear — to rip
  11. degree — an amount
  12. suit — clothes
  13. row — to paddle
  14. pop — music
  15. suit — to fit
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. pop — soda
  20. suit — in cards
  21. degree — from a university
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. stem — a stem cell

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