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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: mate · rock · swing · season · stem · mine · content · hand

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. content — happy
  4. mate — to breed
  5. mate — a friend
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. swing — music
  8. content — the amount
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. hand — help
  11. rock — music
  12. rock — a stone
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mine — for digging
  15. season — in sport
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. swing — to play on
  18. hand — in cards
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. swing — in golf
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. stem — to come from
  23. season — of the year
  24. mine — an explosive

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