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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. dip — to sink
  4. cell — in biology
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. stock — goods
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. game — a match
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. cell — a phone
  11. game — wild animals
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — the amount
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. swing — in golf
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. stock — shares
  20. stem — to come from
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — to play on
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. nail — on a finger

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