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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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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 · pound · nail · stem · chest · fall · mate · firm

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. firm — a company
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. spring — of water
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. mate — to breed
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mate — a friend
  10. spring — the season
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. fall — to drop
  15. firm — decided
  16. pound — a weight
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mate — a partner
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — to come from
  22. chest — a box
  23. fall — the season
  24. spring — a coil

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