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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. content — happy
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. lean — to bend
  8. present — the time now
  9. present — there
  10. content — the amount
  11. tube — a container
  12. board — to get on
  13. chest — of your body
  14. board — a committee
  15. tear — to rip
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. lean — thin
  18. tube — the underground
  19. chest — a box
  20. tear — from crying
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. present — a gift
  24. cabinet — ministers

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