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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: squash · chip · mark · content · straw · march · chest · stem

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. mark — a trace
  4. stem — to come from
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. chest — of your body
  7. march — music
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. chest — a box
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. chip — to eat
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. squash — to crush
  14. content — happy
  15. mark — a grade
  16. squash — the sport
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. march — the month
  19. content — the amount
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. chip — for betting
  23. march — the month
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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