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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. stem — to come from
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. fall — to drop
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. key — in music
  9. content — the amount
  10. key — the most important part
  11. row — a line
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. key — for a lock
  16. row — to paddle
  17. content — happy
  18. game — wild animals
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. mine — for digging
  21. game — a match
  22. fall — the season
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. game — a kind of play

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