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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. net — after costs
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. race — a contest
  9. object — to protest
  10. band — a ring
  11. net — in sport
  12. root — the cause
  13. root — of a plant
  14. net — for catching
  15. race — the arms race
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. chest — a box
  18. object — an aim
  19. root — of a word
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. race — humankind
  22. content — happy
  23. object — a thing
  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