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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: stem · craft · chest · tear · club · last

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. craft — boats
  3. club — for dancing
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. stem — to come from
  7. last — final
  8. craft — a skill
  9. chest — a box
  10. last — finally
  11. club — a group
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. tear — to rip
  16. last — to go on
  17. club — for golf
  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