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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. mate — a partner
  3. stem — to come from
  4. net — in sport
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. mate — a friend
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. pit — in a race
  11. content — the amount
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. rule — a law
  15. mate — to breed
  16. net — for catching
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. object — a thing
  20. pit — a hole
  21. rule — government
  22. net — after costs
  23. object — to protest
  24. object — an aim

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