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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  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. hand — help
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. fall — to drop
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. toast — bread
  7. content — happy
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. chest — a box
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. hand — in cards
  12. present — a gift
  13. content — the amount
  14. roll — a list
  15. chest — of your body
  16. fall — the season
  17. present — there
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. fall — to drop
  22. roll — a cake
  23. present — the time now
  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