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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  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. content — the amount
  2. mate — a friend
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mate — a partner
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. stem — to come from
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. object — to protest
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. content — happy
  12. object — a thing
  13. perch — the fish
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. wound — an injury
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. mate — to breed
  20. object — an aim
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. perch — for a bird
  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