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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 · chest · date · ground · stick · sharp · key · stem

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. stem — to come from
  3. sharp — clever
  4. chest — of your body
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. kid — child
  11. ground — a position
  12. kid — to tease
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. key — in music
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. key — the most important part
  17. date — the fruit
  18. chest — of your body
  19. key — for a lock
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. chest — a box
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. ground — crushed
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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