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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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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: chest · cue · rash · mine · can · content · snap · bear

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. cue — a hint
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. cue — a signal
  8. chest — of your body
  9. content — the amount
  10. cue — for pool
  11. content — happy
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. rash — a series
  14. snap — to click
  15. can — a tin
  16. mine — for digging
  17. rash — hasty
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — to be able to
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — 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