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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.

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: stock · pitch · chest · last · content · stem · present · bass

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. bass — the fish
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. chest — of your body
  8. content — the amount
  9. stock — goods
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. chest — a box
  13. stock — shares
  14. bass — low music
  15. pitch — completely
  16. present — a gift
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. stem — to come from
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. content — happy
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. present — the time now
  23. present — there
  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