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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: hand · face · chest · stock · pit · stem · fork · content

  1. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. chest — of your body
  3. content — the amount
  4. stock — shares
  5. content — happy
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. chest — of your body
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. hand — help
  12. stock — goods
  13. pit — in a race
  14. pit — a hole
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. face — to confront
  17. chest — a box
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — part of the head
  23. hand — in cards
  24. fork — to eat with

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