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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: date · spring · cell · bear · foot · row · game · cap

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. date — the fruit
  5. game — a match
  6. cap — a hat
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. spring — a coil
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. cell — in biology
  11. row — to paddle
  12. spring — of water
  13. game — wild animals
  14. bear — the animal
  15. foot — a measure
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. row — a line
  18. cap — of ice
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. bear — the animal
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. cell — a phone
  23. cap — a lid
  24. game — a kind of play

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