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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. roll — a list
  3. content — happy
  4. content — the amount
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — crushed
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. cold — not warm
  10. roll — a cake
  11. stem — to come from
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. fine — all right
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. cold — an illness
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. ground — a position
  22. fine — high quality
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. lash — an eyelash

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