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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: cabinet · spring · content · current · chest · chair · sharp · bowl

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. current — electric
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — the amount
  5. chair — a leader
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. spring — the season
  8. current — of water
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. spring — a coil
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. content — happy
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. current — happening now
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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