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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. wound — an injury
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. content — happy
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rash — a series
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. rush — hurry
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. cap — a hat
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. stand — to bear
  16. rash — hasty
  17. row — to paddle
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. cap — of ice
  20. stem — to come from
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. row — a line
  23. content — the amount
  24. cap — a lid

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