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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. chest — of your body
  3. content — the amount
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. charge — electricity
  6. rash — hasty
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. rash — a series
  10. charge — a price
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. perch — the fish
  13. chest — a box
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. charge — in control
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. chest — of your body
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. jam — in traffic

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