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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. staff — a stick
  3. march — the month
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stem — to come from
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cue — a signal
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. content — the amount
  14. cue — for pool
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. cue — a hint
  18. staff — employees
  19. squash — the sport
  20. face — to point toward
  21. face — to confront
  22. staff — employees
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. face — part of the head

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