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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. swing — in golf
  4. swing — to play on
  5. content — the amount
  6. mine — for digging
  7. wound — an injury
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. tube — the underground
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. spell — magic
  13. tube — a container
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. swing — music
  18. spell — letters
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. content — happy
  23. stem — to come from
  24. spell — a short time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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