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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.

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: field · current · squash · tear · dip · content · row · stem

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. stem — to come from
  3. content — happy
  4. squash — to crush
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. current — electric
  7. tear — to rip
  8. current — happening now
  9. current — of water
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. tear — from crying
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. tear — from crying
  15. row — a line
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. content — the amount
  18. row — to paddle
  19. field — for sport
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. field — a subject
  22. dip — to sink
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. field — farmland

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