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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: spring · stem · mine · straw · wound · face · rock · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. wound — an injury
  3. face — part of the head
  4. spring — a coil
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — for digging
  7. season — in sport
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. spring — of water
  10. rock — a stone
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. face — to point toward
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. face — to confront
  17. wound — an injury
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. season — of the year
  21. stem — to come from
  22. spring — the season
  23. rock — music
  24. stem — of a plant

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