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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — happy
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. chip — to eat
  10. chest — of your body
  11. content — the amount
  12. wind — moving air
  13. fork — in a road
  14. chest — a box
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. rash — a series
  17. chip — for betting
  18. band — a music group
  19. chest — of your body
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. rash — hasty
  22. wind — moving air
  23. band — a ring
  24. arm — a part of something

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