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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. pop — music
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. content — happy
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. content — the amount
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. charge — in control
  12. cold — an illness
  13. stem — to come from
  14. pop — to visit
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. pop — soda
  17. charge — electricity
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a music group
  20. charge — a price
  21. snap — to click
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stand — to bear
  24. band — a rubber band

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