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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  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 rest against
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. clip — a video
  6. lean — thin
  7. march — music
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. rush — hurry
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. clip — to cut
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. lean — to bend
  17. march — the month
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. stem — to come from
  20. bat — the animal
  21. march — the month
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bowl — to roll
  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