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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: foot · spell · chest · race · mate · stand · pop · content

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. chest — a box
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. foot — a measure
  9. spell — magic
  10. mate — a partner
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. race — a contest
  13. pop — music
  14. race — humankind
  15. spell — letters
  16. content — the amount
  17. race — the arms race
  18. spell — a short time
  19. mate — a friend
  20. pop — soda
  21. chest — of your body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. stand — to bear
  24. mate — to breed

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