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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 lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. spell — letters
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. chest — of your body
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. stem — to come from
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. net — for catching
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. spell — magic
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. chest — of your body
  15. net — in sport
  16. content — the amount
  17. chest — a box
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. net — after costs
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. content — happy
  22. spell — a short time
  23. perch — the fish
  24. perch — for a bird

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