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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: fall · temple · bowl · content · lean · scale · present · chest

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. scale — in music
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. chest — of your body
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. content — the amount
  7. present — there
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. scale — size or range
  14. lean — thin
  15. chest — a box
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. present — a gift
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. chest — of your body
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. present — the time now
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. content — happy

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