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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. content — the amount
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — for digging
  8. content — happy
  9. lie — to recline
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. shower — rain
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. row — to paddle
  14. stem — to come from
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. rush — hurry
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — help
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. row — a line
  24. rush — to hurry

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