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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 120 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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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: mug · pound · spring · cap · cold · stem · trunk · lie

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. pound — a weight
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. cold — not warm
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. cold — an illness
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. spring — the season
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. mug — to rob
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. lie — to recline
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cap — of ice
  17. spring — of water
  18. stem — to come from
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cap — a lid
  24. mug — a face

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