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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. content — happy
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. season — of the year
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. can — a tin
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. rash — a series
  12. stem — to come from
  13. kick — in football
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. season — in sport
  16. rash — hasty
  17. wind — moving air
  18. prune — to trim
  19. content — the amount
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. can — a tin
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. prune — to trim
  24. can — to be able to

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