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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 116 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. stem — to come from
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. ground — a position
  9. content — happy
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. ground — crushed
  14. pit — a hole
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. ground — the earth
  20. pit — in a race
  21. content — the amount
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. mine — for digging

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