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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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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: kid · cap · toast · stem · spring · ball

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. ball — a dance
  3. cap — of ice
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — a coil
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. ball — a great time
  10. toast — bread
  11. spring — of water
  12. kid — child
  13. cap — a hat
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. kid — to tease
  16. stem — to come from
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. cap — a lid

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