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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. chest — of your body
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. date — the fruit
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — happy
  9. cell — a phone
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. chair — a leader
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — the season
  14. chest — of your body
  15. content — the amount
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. chest — a box
  21. cell — in biology
  22. shower — rain
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. cell — in a prison

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