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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. content — happy
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. chest — a box
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bear — the animal
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. mug — a face
  14. bear — the animal
  15. wake — a trail
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. mug — a cup
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. kid — to tease
  22. mug — to rob
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. chest — of your body

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