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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
468
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: sharp · spring · hand · stick · game · stem · lie · mine

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. hand — help
  4. spring — a coil
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. game — a match
  7. hand — in cards
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. spring — the season
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. spring — of water
  16. stem — to come from
  17. lie — to recline
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. sharp — clever
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — belonging to me

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