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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. content — happy
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. present — there
  6. present — the time now
  7. staff — employees
  8. content — the amount
  9. chest — a box
  10. present — a gift
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. vault — a safe
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. staff — a stick
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. staff — employees
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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