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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: content · mine · cap · march · ground · last · mark · stem

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. ground — crushed
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. stem — to come from
  5. mark — a trace
  6. march — music
  7. content — happy
  8. cap — a hat
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. last — to go on
  11. content — the amount
  12. march — the month
  13. cap — of ice
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. mine — for digging
  16. march — the month
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. ground — the earth
  20. last — final
  21. ground — a position
  22. cap — a lid
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. last — finally

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