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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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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: cap · kid · date · toast · bear · spring · stem · present

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. cap — of ice
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. toast — bread
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — the animal
  7. date — the fruit
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. present — there
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — child
  12. spring — the season
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. stem — to come from
  15. present — the time now
  16. cap — a hat
  17. present — a gift
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. spring — a coil
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. cap — a lid

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