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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: game · stem · rock · mug · jam · cold · bank · chest

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. game — wild animals
  3. mug — a cup
  4. chest — of your body
  5. game — a match
  6. rock — music
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. chest — of your body
  9. cold — an illness
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bank — for money
  13. mug — a face
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. bank — for money
  16. chest — a box
  17. mug — to rob
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. bank — of a river
  20. cold — not warm
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. stem — to come from

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