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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. shower — to wash
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. rest — what's left
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. rest — a break
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stem — to come from
  11. rest — what's left
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stock — shares
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. chest — a box
  19. fork — in a road
  20. chest — of your body
  21. content — happy
  22. shower — rain
  23. content — the amount
  24. stock — goods

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