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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: spring · dip · scale · present · chair · cold · mark · stem

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. dip — to sink
  8. cold — an illness
  9. chair — a leader
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. present — the time now
  13. scale — in music
  14. present — a gift
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. spring — a coil
  18. cold — not warm
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. present — there
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. stem — to come from
  24. mark — a trace

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