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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. march — the month
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. land — a country
  12. board — a committee
  13. hand — help
  14. land — to come down
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. board — to get on
  18. spell — a short time
  19. content — the amount
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. hand — in cards
  22. spell — letters
  23. spell — magic
  24. content — happy

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