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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 120 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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  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 — a stem cell
  2. chest — of your body
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. season — of the year
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stem — to come from
  9. chest — a box
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. content — the amount
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. content — happy
  14. bark — to shout
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. season — in sport
  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