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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. foot — a measure
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. plane — a tool
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — money
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. stem — to come from
  19. season — of the year
  20. season — in sport
  21. pitch — completely
  22. rock — music
  23. rock — a stone
  24. content — the amount

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