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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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Word bank
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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. cold — not warm
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cold — an illness
  5. tear — to rip
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stem — to come from
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. dip — to sink
  20. content — happy
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. arm — part of the body

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