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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 · net · chest · kick · kid · bowl · key · sharp

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. net — after costs
  4. kid — child
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. net — in sport
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. chest — of your body
  10. net — for catching
  11. key — in music
  12. chest — of your body
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. stem — to come from
  15. kick — in football
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. key — for a lock
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kid — to tease
  23. key — the most important part
  24. chest — a box

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