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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bulb · straw · spring · court · stem · foot · chest · prune

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — of water
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. bulb — for light
  8. chest — a box
  9. spring — the season
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. prune — to trim
  14. court — of law
  15. chest — of your body
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — to come from
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. court — of a king
  21. bulb — for light
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. foot — a measure
  24. foot — the bottom

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