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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: rash · cell · stem · ground · sharp · snap · spring · spell

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. cell — in biology
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. cell — a phone
  6. spell — magic
  7. ground — crushed
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. spell — letters
  11. rash — hasty
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. spring — a coil
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. ground — a position
  16. sharp — clever
  17. snap — to click
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. spell — a short time
  21. ground — the earth
  22. spring — the season
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. spring — of water

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