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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. charge — a price
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. stem — to come from
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. charge — electricity
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. hand — in cards
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. hand — help
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. snap — to click
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. field — farmland
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. charge — in control
  23. content — happy
  24. stem — of a plant

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