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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  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. scale — size or range
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. rule — government
  6. content — the amount
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. mug — to rob
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. content — happy
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. mug — a cup
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. mug — a face
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. rule — a law
  21. wound — an injury
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. wound — an injury
  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