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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: march · suit · stem · lean · bat · ground · spring · mine

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. spring — a coil
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. spring — the season
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — thin
  7. suit — clothes
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. mine — for digging
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. ground — crushed
  14. spring — of water
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. march — the month
  18. stem — to come from
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. suit — in cards
  21. suit — to fit
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. march — music
  24. march — the month

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