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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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Word bank
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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. march — music
  3. fine — high quality
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. stem — to come from
  6. fine — all right
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. rash — a series
  9. content — the amount
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. spring — the season
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. march — the month
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. spring — a coil
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. content — happy
  20. rash — hasty
  21. spring — of water
  22. pitch — completely
  23. march — the month
  24. pitcher — a jug

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