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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  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. stand — to bear
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rest — what's left
  5. fork — in a road
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. stem — to come from
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. cold — an illness
  21. content — the amount
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. stem — of a plant
  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