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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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. straw — a straw man
  4. chest — of your body
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. board — a committee
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. firm — a company
  9. chest — of your body
  10. firm — decided
  11. content — the amount
  12. board — to get on
  13. chest — a box
  14. firm — steady
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. stem — of a plant

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