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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: ground · bear · kick · row · spring · roll · stem · cap

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  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. spring — of water
  2. kick — in football
  3. ground — a position
  4. cap — a hat
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. roll — a list
  7. spring — the season
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — a line
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. cap — of ice
  14. row — to paddle
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. ground — crushed
  18. stem — to come from
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. roll — a cake
  21. ground — the earth
  22. cap — a lid
  23. kick — a thrill
  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