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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 120 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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. spell — a short time
  4. content — the amount
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. season — in sport
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. spell — magic
  9. stem — to come from
  10. spell — letters
  11. band — a music group
  12. bore — to drill
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. season — of the year
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. band — a ring
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. bore — to tire
  24. content — videos and posts

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