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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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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: lie · stem · hand · wound · content · spring · can · race

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. can — a tin
  3. race — humankind
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — in cards
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. spring — a coil
  9. wound — an injury
  10. race — a contest
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. can — a tin
  14. spring — the season
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. lie — to recline
  17. can — to be able to
  18. race — the arms race
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. spring — of water
  21. wound — an injury
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. content — happy
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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