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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. drill — army training
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — of water
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. can — a tin
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stock — shares
  10. can — a tin
  11. stock — goods
  12. cell — a phone
  13. stem — to come from
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cold — not warm
  16. spring — the season
  17. drill — a practice
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cold — an illness
  22. drill — the tool
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chair — a professorship

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