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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: march · bay · stem · chip · chest · pound

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chip — to eat
  4. march — the month
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. march — music
  7. pound — a weight
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. chip — for betting
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. stem — to come from
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. chest — a box

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