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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. rock — a stone
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. stand — to bear
  8. stem — to come from
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. rock — music
  14. season — in sport
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. content — the amount
  17. cold — an illness
  18. season — of the year
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. leaves — of a tree

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