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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 120 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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. chest — of your body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. fine — all right
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. content — the amount
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. chest — a box
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. rest — a break
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. chest — of your body
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. fine — high quality
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — final
  19. rest — what's left
  20. pass — a permit
  21. last — finally
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. rest — what's left
  24. arm — a part of something

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