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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fall — to drop
  3. object — a thing
  4. content — the amount
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. can — a tin
  8. object — to protest
  9. can — a tin
  10. chest — of your body
  11. fall — to drop
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. can — to be able to
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. object — an aim
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. mark — a trace
  19. fall — the season
  20. rock — music
  21. mark — a grade
  22. chest — a box
  23. chest — of your body
  24. rock — a stone

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