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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 120 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Let us try to swim against 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 — happy
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. clip — a video
  7. current — electric
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. content — the amount
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. clip — for paper
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. bear — the animal
  18. current — happening now
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. chair — a leader
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bat — the animal
  24. current — of water

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