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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 · sharp · ruler · rest · ground · stem · jam · cold

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. rest — what's left
  3. ground — crushed
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. cold — an illness
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. spring — a coil
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. spring — the season
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. rest — what's left
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. ground — a position
  17. rest — a break
  18. stem — to come from
  19. spring — of water
  20. cold — not warm
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — exactly

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