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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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Word bank
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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: firm · hand · pop · stem · squash · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pop — music
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. squash — to crush
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. firm — steady
  7. hand — help
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. squash — the sport
  10. pop — soda
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. firm — decided
  14. pop — to visit
  15. firm — a company
  16. stem — to come from
  17. hand — in cards
  18. content — the amount

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