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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. cell — a phone
  4. tear — from crying
  5. race — a contest
  6. plane — a tool
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stem — to come from
  9. content — happy
  10. cell — in biology
  11. race — humankind
  12. content — the amount
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — to recline
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. race — the arms race
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. tear — to rip

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