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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mouse · stem · tear · spring · chair · cap

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. spring — a coil
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. spring — of water
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. tear — from crying
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. chair — a leader
  12. spring — the season
  13. cap — a hat
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — of ice
  18. mouse — the animal

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