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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: content · wind · foot · land · season · chip · stem · arm

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. chip — to eat
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. land — ground
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stem — to come from
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — happy
  19. land — a country
  20. chip — for betting
  21. land — to come down
  22. season — in sport
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. season — of the year

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