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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: staff · stem · mate · lean · cap · pop · spring · deal

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. lean — to bend
  3. mate — a friend
  4. spring — a coil
  5. mate — to breed
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. spring — of water
  8. pop — music
  9. spring — the season
  10. pop — soda
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — a lid
  14. pop — to visit
  15. lean — thin
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. stem — to come from
  19. deal — to handle
  20. cap — of ice
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. mate — a partner
  24. staff — a stick

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