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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. stem — to come from
  3. content — the amount
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. kid — child
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. court — of law
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. court — of a king
  11. kid — to tease
  12. season — in sport
  13. content — happy
  14. fall — to drop
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. court — for sport
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. season — of the year

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