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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: chest · mark · stem · jam · wound · coach · mouse · row

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. mark — a grade
  6. chest — of your body
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. wound — an injury
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. mark — a trace
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. chest — of your body
  20. row — a line
  21. chest — a box
  22. row — to paddle
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. row — a quarrel

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