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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. stem — to come from
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. drill — army training
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. content — the amount
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. drill — a practice
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — happy
  16. pitch — completely
  17. kick — in football
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. mine — for digging
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. drill — the tool

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