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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: content · march · board · firm · spring · hand · stem · bass

  1. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. spring — a coil
  3. hand — in cards
  4. board — a committee
  5. content — the amount
  6. march — the month
  7. firm — steady
  8. firm — a company
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. board — to get on
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. hand — help
  13. spring — of water
  14. stem — to come from
  15. bass — low music
  16. spring — the season
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. march — music
  19. content — happy
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. bass — the fish
  24. march — the month

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