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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. spell — a short time
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. stem — to come from
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. craft — boats
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. content — happy
  13. chip — to eat
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. spell — letters
  18. mine — for digging
  19. spell — magic
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. craft — a skill
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. court — of law
  24. chip — for betting

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