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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: content · wind · rest · row · lean · chip · bore · chest

  1. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. chest — a box
  3. content — happy
  4. rest — what's left
  5. wind — moving air
  6. lean — thin
  7. bore — to tire
  8. content — the amount
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. rest — a break
  11. wind — moving air
  12. row — to paddle
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. chest — of your body
  19. rest — what's left
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. lean — to bend
  22. chip — to eat
  23. bore — to drill
  24. chip — for betting

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