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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — the amount
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. bear — the animal
  6. row — a line
  7. craft — boats
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. bear — the animal
  10. content — happy
  11. branch — a division
  12. tear — from crying
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. craft — a skill
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. tear — from crying
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. stem — to come from
  22. tear — to rip
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. row — to paddle

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