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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. wound — an injury
  3. key — for a lock
  4. content — the amount
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. key — in music
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. kid — to tease
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. key — the most important part
  13. content — happy
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. toast — bread
  19. wound — an injury
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. chest — of your body
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. chest — a box

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