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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: chest · stem · cell · tear · swing · rock · net · chip

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. rock — a stone
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. chest — of your body
  5. net — after costs
  6. swing — music
  7. cell — in biology
  8. stem — to come from
  9. tear — to rip
  10. chip — to eat
  11. rock — music
  12. net — for catching
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. chest — of your body
  15. swing — to play on
  16. tear — from crying
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. swing — in golf
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. chest — a box
  21. net — in sport
  22. chip — for betting
  23. cell — a phone
  24. tear — from crying

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