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

Word bank: bark · kick · stem · chest · content · present

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. present — the time now
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. content — happy
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. stem — to come from
  8. present — a gift
  9. chest — a box
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. kick — in football
  12. content — the amount
  13. chest — of your body
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. chest — of your body
  16. present — there
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. kick — with a leg

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