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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: wound · tear · kick · content · mate · stem · straw · stick

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. content — happy
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. mate — a friend
  6. mate — to breed
  7. content — the amount
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. mate — a partner
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. tear — to rip
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. tear — from crying
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stem — to come from
  22. kick — in football
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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