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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. wound — an injury
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. content — the amount
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. can — a tin
  9. bulb — for light
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stem — to come from
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. can — a tin
  19. game — a match
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. can — to be able to
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bulb — for light
  24. game — wild animals

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