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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pop — to visit
  6. mug — a cup
  7. swing — in golf
  8. stem — to come from
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. cold — not warm
  11. swing — music
  12. pop — music
  13. pound — a weight
  14. content — happy
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. mug — to rob
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pop — soda
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. content — the amount
  23. mug — a face
  24. cold — an illness

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