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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  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. stem — to come from
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. band — a music group
  4. mine — for digging
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. content — the amount
  7. band — a ring
  8. drill — a practice
  9. mug — a cup
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. drill — the tool
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. drill — army training
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. mug — to rob
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — child
  22. mug — a face
  23. content — happy
  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