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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: kick · chest · last · hand · stem · firm

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. last — to go on
  4. firm — decided
  5. last — finally
  6. firm — a company
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. kick — in football
  11. hand — in cards
  12. chest — a box
  13. last — final
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. chest — of your body
  16. firm — steady
  17. stem — to come from
  18. hand — help

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