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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 120 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. spell — letters
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — to recline
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rock — a stone
  8. content — happy
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. bass — the fish
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. content — the amount
  14. court — of a king
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. court — for sport
  18. court — of law
  19. bass — low music
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. spell — a short time
  22. rock — music
  23. spell — magic
  24. bass — the instrument

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