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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 · kid · rest · hand · stem · bowl · cap · rush

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rest — a break
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. kid — to tease
  8. hand — help
  9. stem — to come from
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. rest — what's left
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — of ice
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. spring — the season
  18. rush — hurry
  19. kid — child
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. spring — of water
  22. cap — a hat
  23. rest — what's left
  24. hand — in cards

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