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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: net · spring · cap · court · game · stem · foot · dip

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. spring — a coil
  4. cap — a lid
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — of law
  7. net — after costs
  8. dip — to sink
  9. net — for catching
  10. spring — of water
  11. cap — a hat
  12. game — a match
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. cap — of ice
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. court — for sport
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. stem — to come from
  19. game — wild animals
  20. foot — a measure
  21. spring — the season
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. net — in sport
  24. stem — a stem cell

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