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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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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: land · march · row · ground · stem · content · date · leaves

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. land — ground
  9. row — a line
  10. ground — the earth
  11. land — a country
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. march — the month
  15. content — happy
  16. march — music
  17. date — the fruit
  18. land — to come down
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — crushed
  21. content — the amount
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. march — the month

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