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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. rash — hasty
  5. rash — a series
  6. stem — to come from
  7. sharp — clever
  8. content — happy
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. tear — from crying
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. squash — to crush
  21. tear — to rip
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. squash — the sport
  24. tear — from crying

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