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

Word bank: kid · suit · bowl · stem · content · prune · stick · cold

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  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. stick — a piece of wood
  2. kid — to tease
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. suit — clothes
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. suit — to fit
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. kid — child
  11. suit — in cards
  12. prune — to trim
  13. content — happy
  14. prune — to trim
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stem — to come from
  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