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

Word bank: stem · rule · snap · chest · pitch · content

  1. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. rule — a law
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. content — the amount
  8. snap — to click
  9. chest — a box
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. content — happy
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. stem — to come from
  15. rule — government
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. chest — of your body

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