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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. content — the amount
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. tube — the underground
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. chest — of your body
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. march — music
  17. chest — a box
  18. squash — to crush
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. chest — of your body
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to click
  23. squash — the sport
  24. tube — a container

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