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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: kid · can · chest · stem · tear · racket · bay · bass

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bass — the fish
  3. can — a tin
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. can — to be able to
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bass — low music
  8. stem — to come from
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. chest — a box
  14. kid — to tease
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. tear — to rip
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. kid — child
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. tear — from crying
  24. can — a tin

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