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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: squash · chest · content · fan · bark · hand · stem · cold

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. squash — the sport
  4. stem — to come from
  5. chest — a box
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. content — the amount
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. cold — not warm
  14. squash — to crush
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. hand — in cards
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. hand — help
  23. content — happy
  24. cold — the Cold War

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