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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 116 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: land · pound · lie · wake · chair · racket · content · stem

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. content — happy
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. chair — a leader
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. wake — a trail
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. pound — a weight
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — ground
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. lie — to recline
  19. land — a country
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. content — the amount
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. stem — a stem cell

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