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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: kid · lean · ground · content · sharp · chair · chest · wake

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. ground — a position
  3. content — happy
  4. chest — of your body
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. chest — of your body
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — clever
  12. content — the amount
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. chair — a leader
  15. kid — child
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. ground — crushed
  21. lean — thin
  22. chest — a box
  23. kid — to tease
  24. lean — to bend

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