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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 124 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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. can — a tin
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. stem — to come from
  5. content — happy
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. swing — in golf
  10. clip — to cut
  11. swing — to play on
  12. clip — for paper
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. band — a ring
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. content — the amount
  17. mark — a trace
  18. can — to be able to
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. clip — a video
  21. can — a tin
  22. band — a music group
  23. mark — a grade
  24. swing — music

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