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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. shower — to wash
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. content — happy
  5. kid — to tease
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. net — in sport
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. stem — to come from
  10. pound — a weight
  11. net — after costs
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. shower — rain
  17. content — the amount
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. kid — child
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. net — for catching
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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