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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: chest · bulb · swing · leaves · fork · wound · content · bay

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  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. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. bulb — for light
  5. swing — in golf
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. swing — music
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. wound — an injury
  15. content — the amount
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. chest — of your body
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. content — happy
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fork — in a road
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  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