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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. season — of the year
  6. chest — a box
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. shower — to wash
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. shower — rain
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. chest — of your body
  16. season — in sport
  17. chest — of your body
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. content — the amount
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. mark — a trace
  22. bark — to shout
  23. mark — a grade
  24. bark — of a tree

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