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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 120 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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. kid — child
  3. content — happy
  4. swing — music
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. chest — of your body
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. deal — to handle
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. press — to push
  15. content — the amount
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. press — a publisher
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. fine — high quality
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. swing — in golf
  22. kid — to tease
  23. press — newspapers
  24. swing — to play on

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