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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. content — happy
  4. shower — rain
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — a hat
  9. snap — to click
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. stem — to come from
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. cap — of ice
  15. band — a ring
  16. can — a tin
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. band — a music group
  20. content — the amount
  21. can — to be able to
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. can — a tin

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