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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. band — a music group
  4. fine — all right
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. hand — help
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stem — to come from
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. hand — in cards
  14. wind — moving air
  15. band — a ring
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. fine — high quality
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — the fish
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. content — happy

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