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

Word bank: fall · chest · bear · snap · fork · charge · content · bark

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bear — the animal
  3. charge — a price
  4. chest — a box
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. charge — electricity
  7. snap — to click
  8. content — the amount
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. fall — to drop
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. chest — of your body
  14. fork — in a road
  15. fall — the season
  16. bark — to shout
  17. charge — in control
  18. bear — the animal
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. fall — to drop
  24. chest — of your body

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