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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. snap — to click
  4. band — a music group
  5. bulb — for light
  6. prune — to trim
  7. tear — from crying
  8. band — a ring
  9. tear — to rip
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. prune — to trim
  12. stem — to come from
  13. spring — the season
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. spring — a coil
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. dip — to sink
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. tear — from crying
  22. bulb — for light
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. prune — the fruit

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