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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 124 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 would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. season — in sport
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. current — happening now
  5. stand — to bear
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. object — a thing
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. content — the amount
  12. stem — to come from
  13. content — happy
  14. current — electric
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. current — of water
  17. plane — a tool
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. object — an aim
  20. season — of the year
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. content — videos and posts

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