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

Word bank: row · saw · board · chest · bear · content · bat · key

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. saw — the tool
  3. content — happy
  4. content — the amount
  5. board — to get on
  6. bear — the animal
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. key — in music
  10. saw — the tool
  11. row — a line
  12. chest — a box
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. chest — of your body
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. board — a committee
  20. bear — the animal
  21. key — the most important part
  22. key — for a lock
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bat — the animal

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