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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: bear · shower · kid · content · chip · chest · cap · mouse

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cap — of ice
  4. chip — to eat
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cap — a hat
  11. chip — for betting
  12. bear — the animal
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. cap — a lid
  18. content — the amount
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. shower — to wash
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. shower — rain
  24. chest — a box

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