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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. firm — decided
  5. spring — the season
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. cell — in biology
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. tear — to rip
  13. firm — a company
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. stem — to come from
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. dip — to sink
  18. rush — hurry
  19. game — wild animals
  20. tear — from crying
  21. firm — steady
  22. spring — of water
  23. cell — a phone
  24. spring — a coil

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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