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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: content · wave · cap · row · snap · stem · spring · bowl

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. cap — a hat
  5. spring — of water
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — to paddle
  10. spring — a coil
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. spring — the season
  13. content — happy
  14. cap — of ice
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. stem — to come from
  20. content — the amount
  21. row — a line
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. snap — to click
  24. cap — a lid

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