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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. scale — size or range
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. band — a ring
  6. content — happy
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. content — the amount
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. pit — in a race
  12. spring — the season
  13. charge — a price
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. charge — in control
  16. charge — electricity
  17. spring — a coil
  18. chest — of your body
  19. pit — a hole
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. band — a music group
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. spring — of water
  24. scale — in music

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