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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. bass — the fish
  3. craft — a skill
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. mine — for digging
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. can — a tin
  10. cold — an illness
  11. stem — to come from
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. can — a tin
  15. cold — not warm
  16. content — happy
  17. craft — boats
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. chair — a leader
  20. can — to be able to
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. content — the amount
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. mine — an explosive

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