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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: spell · ball · stem · chest · present · rock · saw · content

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. spell — a short time
  4. present — the time now
  5. saw — the tool
  6. chest — of your body
  7. content — happy
  8. present — there
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. chest — a box
  11. stem — to come from
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — magic
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. present — a gift
  19. ball — a great time
  20. chest — of your body
  21. content — the amount
  22. rock — music
  23. rock — a stone
  24. stem — of a plant

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