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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 · wind · cell · dip · root · bound · temple · spring

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — a coil
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. spring — of water
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cell — in biology
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — obliged
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — a phone
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. root — of a plant
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cap — a hat
  17. dip — to sink
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. wind — moving air
  20. root — of a word
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. root — the cause
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bound — certain

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