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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. game — wild animals
  3. cell — a phone
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. chair — a leader
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. sharp — clever
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. stem — to come from
  13. cell — in biology
  14. content — the amount
  15. rush — hurry
  16. fall — the season
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. content — happy
  20. fall — to drop
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. game — a match
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. fall — to drop

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