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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · wax · content · bear · racket · spring · pitcher · arm

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  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 — videos and posts
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. spring — a coil
  4. content — happy
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. chest — a box
  11. bear — the animal
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. spring — the season
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. chest — of your body
  20. spring — of water
  21. bear — the animal
  22. content — the amount
  23. wax — in the ear
  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