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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 · scale · bear · pound · season · kid · stem · fall

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. scale — size or range
  5. pound — a weight
  6. fall — the season
  7. season — in sport
  8. scale — in music
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. chest — a box
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. kid — child
  15. season — of the year
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. stem — to come from
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bear — the animal
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bear — the animal
  24. scale — for weighing

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