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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. bound — certain
  3. present — there
  4. squash — the sport
  5. present — a gift
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. content — the amount
  9. shower — to wash
  10. present — the time now
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. stem — to come from
  15. bound — obliged
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. shower — rain
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. bound — tied together
  20. content — happy
  21. land — ground
  22. land — a country
  23. land — to come down
  24. squash — to crush

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