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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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. bear — to put up with
  4. content — the amount
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. charge — a price
  8. file — a tool
  9. perch — the fish
  10. pop — soda
  11. charge — in control
  12. bear — the animal
  13. pop — music
  14. pop — to visit
  15. bear — the animal
  16. content — happy
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a line of people
  22. chest — a box
  23. charge — electricity
  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