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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — to sink
  4. mate — a friend
  5. content — the amount
  6. fall — to drop
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fall — the season
  9. season — in sport
  10. chest — of your body
  11. content — happy
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. wound — an injury
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. fall — to drop
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. mate — to breed
  22. chest — a box
  23. season — of the year
  24. mate — a partner

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