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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 120 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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. content — happy
  3. ball — a dance
  4. club — for dancing
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. tube — the underground
  7. club — for golf
  8. deal — to handle
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. ball — a great time
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. chest — of your body
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. content — the amount
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. rock — music
  18. chest — a box
  19. last — final
  20. club — a group
  21. tube — a container
  22. rock — a stone
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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