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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 120 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. content — happy
  3. lie — to recline
  4. content — the amount
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. swing — to play on
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. stand — to bear
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. net — for catching
  11. swing — in golf
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — in sport
  14. present — a gift
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. present — the time now
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. swing — music
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. present — there

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