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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 116 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: chip · content · mark · shower · lash · tear · stem · field

  1. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. stem — to come from
  5. tear — from crying
  6. field — a subject
  7. chip — for betting
  8. content — happy
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. tear — to rip
  11. shower — to wash
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chip — to eat
  15. field — farmland
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mark — a grade
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. shower — rain
  24. field — for sport

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