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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.

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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. content — the amount
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. perch — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. stem — to come from
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. land — a country
  10. current — of water
  11. lean — thin
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. current — happening now
  15. current — electric
  16. content — happy
  17. mate — a partner
  18. land — to come down
  19. march — music
  20. mate — to breed
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. land — ground
  23. mate — a friend
  24. stem — a stem cell

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