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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. can — a tin
  4. can — to be able to
  5. stock — shares
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. lean — to bend
  8. stem — to come from
  9. can — a tin
  10. stock — goods
  11. lean — thin
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. row — a line
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. root — the cause
  17. root — of a word
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. content — the amount
  20. row — to paddle
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. root — of a plant
  24. content — videos and posts

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