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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. chest — of your body
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. band — a music group
  7. tear — from crying
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. content — happy
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. chest — a box
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. pit — a hole
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. pit — in a race
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. tear — from crying
  21. chest — of your body
  22. tear — to rip
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. band — a ring

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