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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: mine · lie · content · wind · stick · stem · pop · bear

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  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. bear — the animal
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — the amount
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. pop — music
  7. content — happy
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. pop — to visit
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. pop — soda
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bear — the animal
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. mine — for digging
  22. lie — to recline
  23. stem — to come from
  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