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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spring · cold · stem · sharp · content · bass · safe · wound

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. stem — to come from
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. content — the amount
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. bass — the fish
  13. wound — an injury
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. spring — a coil
  16. bass — low music
  17. spring — of water
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. spring — the season
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. sharp — clever
  23. content — happy
  24. content — videos and posts

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