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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. spring — of water
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bank — for money
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. content — happy
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. chest — of your body
  11. squash — the sport
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — the season
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bank — of a river
  17. plane — a tool
  18. content — the amount
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. bank — for money
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. chest — a box
  24. squash — to crush

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