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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: stem · rule · plane · spring · content · bowl · roll · kid

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. roll — a list
  4. spring — of water
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. content — the amount
  7. spring — the season
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. kid — to tease
  10. spring — a coil
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — happy
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. roll — a cake
  21. stem — to come from
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. rule — a law
  24. kid — child

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