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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. content — the amount
  3. shower — rain
  4. shower — to wash
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. land — to come down
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bat — the animal
  10. cue — a signal
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. mark — a trace
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. content — happy
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. land — ground
  18. squash — to crush
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. stem — to come from
  22. mark — a grade
  23. cue — a hint
  24. cue — for pool

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