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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chest — of your body
  3. saw — the tool
  4. content — the amount
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. game — wild animals
  7. row — a line
  8. firm — a company
  9. roll — a list
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. roll — a cake
  14. firm — decided
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. saw — the tool
  17. game — a match
  18. content — happy
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. firm — steady
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. chest — of your body
  24. row — to paddle

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