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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: spring · nail · stock · game · bore · stem · cell · pitcher

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bore — to tire
  5. stock — shares
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. stock — goods
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bore — to drill
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — to come from
  15. game — a match
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. spring — a coil
  18. cell — a phone
  19. game — wild animals
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. spring — of water
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. spring — the season
  24. stem — a stem cell

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