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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. row — a line
  5. plane — a tool
  6. bank — of a river
  7. chest — a box
  8. cap — a lid
  9. net — in sport
  10. bore — to tire
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. bank — for money
  15. cap — a hat
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. row — to paddle
  18. net — after costs
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bank — for money
  22. net — for catching
  23. bore — to drill
  24. cap — of ice

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