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

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. mark — a trace
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. game — wild animals
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. mark — a grade
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. prune — to trim
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. content — happy
  16. stem — to come from
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. game — a match

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