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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. hand — help
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lean — thin
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — for light
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. season — in sport
  13. hand — in cards
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — a subject
  18. content — the amount
  19. season — of the year
  20. chip — to eat
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. chip — for betting
  23. field — farmland
  24. content — happy

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