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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stem · spring · perch · bear · bat · game · cell · pop

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. perch — the fish
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. stem — to come from
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bear — the animal
  8. pop — music
  9. spring — a coil
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. game — wild animals
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. cell — in biology
  16. spring — the season
  17. game — a match
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cell — a phone
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. pop — soda
  23. bat — the animal
  24. spring — of water

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