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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: spring · fan · mine · cold · mug · dip · stem · root

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. spring — the season
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mug — to rob
  8. spring — a coil
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. cold — not warm
  12. root — the cause
  13. mug — a cup
  14. root — of a plant
  15. dip — to sink
  16. stem — to come from
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. spring — of water
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. mug — a face
  21. root — of a word
  22. mine — for digging
  23. cold — an illness
  24. fan — a supporter

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