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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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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: stem · cap · game · ground · lie · perch · content · row

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. content — the amount
  3. row — a line
  4. lie — to recline
  5. content — happy
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. cap — of ice
  9. row — to paddle
  10. cap — a hat
  11. game — wild animals
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. ground — crushed
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. cap — a lid
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. perch — the fish
  18. game — a match
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. stem — to come from
  21. ground — a position
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. ground — the earth

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