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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 120 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: content · spring · stem · pitch · wind · mark · temple · hand

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. spring — the season
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — a trace
  12. content — happy
  13. pitch — completely
  14. stem — to come from
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. content — the amount
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. spring — of water
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. spring — a coil
  23. wind — moving air
  24. hand — in cards

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