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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bank — for money
  5. bank — of a river
  6. capital — money
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. snap — to click
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bank — for money
  11. tear — from crying
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. tear — to rip
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. capital — a city
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. content — the amount
  20. plane — a tool
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. lie — to recline
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. plane — an aircraft

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