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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 120 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: spell · rock · spring · capital · stem · tear · board · mug

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. mug — a face
  3. spring — of water
  4. tear — to rip
  5. capital — money
  6. spring — the season
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. board — to get on
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rock — music
  11. spell — a short time
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rock — a stone
  15. capital — a city
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. mug — to rob
  18. spell — letters
  19. mug — a cup
  20. spell — magic
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. spring — a coil
  23. stem — to come from
  24. tear — from crying

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