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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 · content · craft · cell · dip · chest · cap · rush

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. kid — child
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. rush — hurry
  7. craft — boats
  8. cell — in biology
  9. content — happy
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. cap — a hat
  12. chest — a box
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. cap — of ice
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. kid — to tease
  18. cap — a lid
  19. content — the amount
  20. craft — a skill
  21. dip — to sink
  22. cell — a phone
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. dip — to dunk

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