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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: stem · hand · fine · drill · content · saw · chest · pop

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — to visit
  5. drill — a practice
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. pop — music
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. chest — a box
  11. content — the amount
  12. fine — all right
  13. hand — help
  14. fine — high quality
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. chest — of your body
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. stem — to come from
  20. hand — in cards
  21. saw — the tool
  22. drill — the tool
  23. content — happy
  24. drill — army training

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