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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 · rule · snap · chest · pitch · content · bass · hand

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. snap — to click
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. chest — a box
  6. rule — a law
  7. hand — help
  8. pitch — completely
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. chest — of your body
  13. content — happy
  14. bass — low music
  15. stem — to come from
  16. bass — the fish
  17. rule — government
  18. hand — in cards
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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