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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: mine · game · stem · snap · cue · row · spring · bound

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. row — a line
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. spring — of water
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. game — a match
  7. spring — the season
  8. cue — for pool
  9. cue — a signal
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bound — tied together
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. game — wild animals
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bound — certain
  19. cue — a hint
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. stem — to come from
  22. snap — to click
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. mine — for digging

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