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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
468
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 · spring · season · bear · bulb · tear · mine · chest

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bear — the animal
  6. season — of the year
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. season — in sport
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bear — the animal
  11. spring — the season
  12. chest — a box
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. spring — of water
  17. bulb — for light
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. chest — of your body
  20. mine — for digging
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. bulb — for light
  23. tear — to rip
  24. mine — belonging to me

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