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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. root — of a word
  3. bass — low music
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bass — the fish
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. root — the cause
  13. chest — a box
  14. pit — in a race
  15. content — happy
  16. root — of a plant
  17. kid — child
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pit — a hole
  20. content — the amount
  21. kid — to tease
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. chair — a leader
  24. bass — the instrument

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