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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. kid — to tease
  3. court — of law
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. court — of a king
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. content — happy
  10. stem — to come from
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. game — a match
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. court — for sport
  16. content — the amount
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. rush — hurry
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. game — wild animals
  23. dip — to sink
  24. kid — child

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