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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · staff · stem · pitcher · chest · cold · drill · bear

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. drill — the tool
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. drill — army training
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bear — the animal
  9. season — in sport
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. cold — an illness
  12. season — of the year
  13. stem — to come from
  14. cold — not warm
  15. staff — employees
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. staff — employees
  18. staff — a stick
  19. bear — the animal
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. chest — a box
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. chest — of your body
  24. drill — a practice

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