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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. row — a line
  4. row — to paddle
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. saw — the tool
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. saw — the tool
  12. lean — thin
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. stem — to come from
  15. roll — a list
  16. lean — to bend
  17. roll — a cake
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. kick — in football
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. content — the amount
  24. roll — on a roll

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