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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. sharp — clever
  4. season — of the year
  5. file — a document
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. content — happy
  8. stem — to come from
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. file — a tool
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. ball — a great time
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — the amount
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. mate — to breed
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. season — in sport
  21. file — a line of people
  22. mate — a friend
  23. ball — a dance
  24. mate — a partner

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