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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: degree · content · toast · bank · chest · cell · wound · nail

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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. content — videos and posts
  4. chest — of your body
  5. toast — bread
  6. bank — for money
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. bank — of a river
  12. bank — for money
  13. chest — of your body
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. cell — in biology
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cell — a phone
  19. wound — an injury
  20. content — the amount
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. degree — an amount
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. degree — temperature

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