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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: spring · stem · bark · jam · land · patient · kick · ball

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. spring — of water
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. ball — a dance
  7. land — to come down
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. spring — a coil
  10. kick — in football
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. spring — the season
  21. bark — to shout
  22. land — a country
  23. land — ground
  24. ball — a great time

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