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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. content — happy
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. squash — the sport
  7. content — the amount
  8. march — music
  9. tube — a container
  10. net — after costs
  11. squash — to crush
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. march — the month
  14. net — in sport
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. last — finally
  19. last — to go on
  20. tube — the underground
  21. last — final
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. net — for catching

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