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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. hand — help
  6. file — a tool
  7. cell — a phone
  8. chest — of your body
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. chest — a box
  11. board — a committee
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. file — a line of people
  14. board — to get on
  15. file — a document
  16. hand — in cards
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. content — the amount
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stem — to come from
  23. content — happy
  24. stem — a stem cell

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