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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. face — part of the head
  5. stem — to come from
  6. cap — of ice
  7. clip — for paper
  8. face — to point toward
  9. content — the amount
  10. club — a group
  11. content — happy
  12. face — to confront
  13. cap — a hat
  14. clip — to cut
  15. club — for golf
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. game — a match
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. clip — a video
  21. game — wild animals
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. cap — a lid
  24. club — for dancing

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