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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. roll — a cake
  3. content — the amount
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. content — happy
  6. deal — to handle
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. face — to confront
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — of the year
  11. ball — a dance
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. roll — a list
  15. face — part of the head
  16. face — to point toward
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. stem — to come from
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. ball — a great time
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. deal — an agreement

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