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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: craft · rock · spring · file · chest · content

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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. craft — boats
  4. spring — of water
  5. chest — a box
  6. file — a tool
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. content — the amount
  9. rock — music
  10. rock — a stone
  11. file — a line of people
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — the season
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. craft — a skill
  17. file — a document
  18. content — videos and posts

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