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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: pop · content · game · tear · stem · bore · chair · squash

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. tear — from crying
  3. content — the amount
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — a leader
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. game — wild animals
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — the sport
  13. bore — to drill
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. pop — music
  19. pop — soda
  20. game — a match
  21. squash — to crush
  22. pop — to visit
  23. tear — to rip
  24. stem — a stem cell

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