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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bay · spring · pitcher · tube · mate · court · face · stem

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  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. face — part of the head
  2. mate — a friend
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. stem — to come from
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. spring — the season
  10. face — to confront
  11. court — of law
  12. tube — the underground
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. court — of a king
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. tube — a container
  19. mate — to breed
  20. face — to point toward
  21. court — for sport
  22. spring — of water
  23. stem — of a plant
  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