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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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. firm — decided
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. firm — a company
  6. wind — moving air
  7. game — wild animals
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. content — the amount
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. mine — for digging
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. prune — to trim
  16. wind — moving air
  17. prune — to trim
  18. stand — to bear
  19. game — a match
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. firm — steady
  24. content — happy

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