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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 120 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: stem · mate · content · wind · cap · key · field · wave

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. content — happy
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — of ice
  6. field — for sport
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. cap — a lid
  9. content — the amount
  10. mate — a partner
  11. wind — moving air
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. mate — to breed
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mate — a friend
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — farmland
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stem — to come from
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. key — in music
  23. key — the most important part
  24. wind — to turn a key

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