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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. row — to paddle
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — a phone
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. tear — to rip
  8. stem — to come from
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. land — ground
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. land — a country
  13. land — to come down
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. content — happy
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — from crying
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. content — the amount
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. lean — to bend
  24. lean — thin

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