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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 · tube · squash · race · stem · bear · lean · hand

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. bear — the animal
  3. squash — the sport
  4. lean — to bend
  5. race — humankind
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. chest — a box
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. chest — of your body
  11. lean — thin
  12. tube — the underground
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. stem — to come from
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — the arms race
  19. tube — a container
  20. chest — of your body
  21. hand — help
  22. squash — to crush
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bear — the animal

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