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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: mouse · spring · snap · row · ground · content · chest · lean

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. chest — of your body
  4. spring — of water
  5. content — the amount
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. content — happy
  8. snap — to click
  9. row — a line
  10. lean — thin
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. ground — crushed
  14. spring — the season
  15. ground — the earth
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. ground — a position
  18. spring — a coil
  19. lean — to bend
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. row — to paddle
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mouse — the animal

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