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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wind — moving air
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. wind — moving air
  6. season — in sport
  7. cue — a signal
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. season — of the year
  10. wound — an injury
  11. content — happy
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bound — certain
  16. content — the amount
  17. stem — to come from
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cue — a hint
  20. saw — the tool
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. saw — the tool
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bound — obliged

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