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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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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: swing · content · wind · temple · shower · stem · squash · chest

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. chest — a box
  4. swing — to play on
  5. wind — moving air
  6. shower — rain
  7. chest — of your body
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. stem — to come from
  10. shower — to wash
  11. wind — moving air
  12. content — the amount
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. swing — music
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. swing — in golf
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. chest — of your body
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — happy
  24. temple — side of the head

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