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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. swing — to play on
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — the tool
  9. sharp — clever
  10. swing — in golf
  11. drill — army training
  12. content — the amount
  13. swing — music
  14. content — happy
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. kick — in football
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. kick — with a leg

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