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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 116 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. cell — a phone
  5. stem — to come from
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. ground — a position
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. content — the amount
  10. ground — the earth
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. scale — size or range
  13. cold — an illness
  14. scale — in music
  15. content — happy
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. ground — crushed
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — in biology
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. stem — of a plant

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