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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. season — of the year
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. bound — obliged
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. bound — tied together
  9. stand — to bear
  10. row — to paddle
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. spring — of water
  13. bound — certain
  14. kick — in football
  15. spring — a coil
  16. stem — to come from
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — happy
  20. row — a line
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. content — the amount
  24. spring — the season

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