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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: stem · pound · chest · squash · foot · arm · net · band

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. squash — the sport
  3. net — after costs
  4. foot — a measure
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a ring
  7. squash — to crush
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. net — for catching
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. net — in sport
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. stem — to come from
  16. chest — of your body
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. chest — a box
  19. pound — a weight
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. band — a music group
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. chest — of your body

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