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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. content — the amount
  4. last — finally
  5. tear — to rip
  6. last — to go on
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — to come from
  9. tear — from crying
  10. land — ground
  11. land — a country
  12. game — wild animals
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. kid — to tease
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. chair — a leader
  17. last — final
  18. land — to come down
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. game — a match
  21. kid — child
  22. content — happy
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. tear — from crying

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