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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  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. content — the amount
  3. press — to push
  4. stem — to come from
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. scale — in music
  7. chip — for betting
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. file — a tool
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. file — a line of people
  12. chip — to eat
  13. file — a document
  14. saw — the tool
  15. band — a music group
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. scale — size or range
  18. band — a ring
  19. press — newspapers
  20. press — a publisher
  21. content — happy
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. saw — the tool
  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