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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 happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. last — finally
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pop — to visit
  7. bear — the animal
  8. last — to go on
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. content — the amount
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. pop — soda
  14. pop — music
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. content — happy
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. cold — an illness
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. last — final

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