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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: content · cap · season · swing · row · stem · mine · dip

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. content — happy
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cap — a hat
  5. season — in sport
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. row — to paddle
  8. swing — in golf
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. content — the amount
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. cap — a lid
  15. mine — for digging
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. swing — to play on
  18. dip — to sink
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. swing — music
  21. row — a line
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. season — of the year

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