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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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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: chair · kick · hide · content · bore · bulb · cold · stem

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. stem — to come from
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. content — happy
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bore — to drill
  9. content — the amount
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bulb — for light
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. chair — a leader
  15. bore — to tire
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. cold — an illness
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. bulb — for light
  24. stem — a stem cell

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