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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: content · lean · chest · temple · bass · spring · kid · pop

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. kid — child
  3. spring — a coil
  4. content — happy
  5. lean — thin
  6. spring — the season
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. pop — soda
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. kid — to tease
  12. chest — of your body
  13. lean — to bend
  14. pop — to visit
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. bass — the fish
  18. content — the amount
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pop — music
  22. chest — a box
  23. spring — of water
  24. temple — a place of worship

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