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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. charge — in control
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. content — happy
  6. current — electric
  7. kid — to tease
  8. chest — of your body
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. charge — electricity
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. chest — a box
  14. kid — child
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. current — happening now
  21. charge — a price
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. current — of water
  24. fan — a supporter

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