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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 116 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: content · stem · tear · cue · craft · kid · chip · shower

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. tear — from crying
  4. stem — to come from
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. cue — a signal
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. shower — rain
  11. content — happy
  12. chip — for betting
  13. cue — for pool
  14. kid — child
  15. cue — a hint
  16. chip — to eat
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. craft — boats
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. content — the amount
  22. shower — to wash
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. craft — a skill

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