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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. chest — of your body
  3. capital — money
  4. content — happy
  5. craft — a skill
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. object — to protest
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. pit — a hole
  11. chest — a box
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. shower — rain
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. pit — in a race
  16. craft — boats
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. capital — a city
  19. shower — to wash
  20. content — the amount
  21. object — a thing
  22. object — an aim
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. chest — of your body

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