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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: snap · chest · mouse · shower · bound · swing · content · lean

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. shower — rain
  3. lean — thin
  4. chest — a box
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. shower — to wash
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. bound — certain
  11. swing — to play on
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. swing — in golf
  14. content — happy
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bound — obliged
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. content — the amount
  21. bound — tied together
  22. swing — music
  23. mouse — for a computer
  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