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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. content — happy
  6. dip — to sink
  7. chest — of your body
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a friend
  10. content — the amount
  11. wake — a trail
  12. chest — a box
  13. lean — thin
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. lean — to bend
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. mate — a partner
  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