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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: tear · tube · ground · board · content · spring · chest · bulb

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. content — happy
  3. ground — a position
  4. ground — crushed
  5. tear — to rip
  6. spring — a coil
  7. ground — the earth
  8. tube — the underground
  9. board — a committee
  10. tear — from crying
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bulb — for light
  14. tube — a container
  15. spring — of water
  16. spring — the season
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. chest — of your body
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. board — to get on
  21. content — the amount
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bulb — for light

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