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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. ball — a great time
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. content — the amount
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. prune — to trim
  9. stem — to come from
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. squash — to crush
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. capital — money
  14. content — happy
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. capital — a city
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. squash — the sport
  22. cold — not warm
  23. ball — a dance
  24. prune — to trim

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