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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. snap — to click
  4. ball — a dance
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. land — a country
  7. net — for catching
  8. chest — of your body
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. lie — to recline
  11. content — happy
  12. ball — a great time
  13. net — in sport
  14. bark — to shout
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. content — the amount
  20. land — ground
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. land — to come down
  23. net — after costs
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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