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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.

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: shower · chair · rash · march · content · season · root · chest

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chest — of your body
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. rash — a series
  5. chest — of your body
  6. content — happy
  7. season — of the year
  8. march — the month
  9. root — of a plant
  10. shower — rain
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. chair — a leader
  14. march — music
  15. rash — hasty
  16. root — the cause
  17. root — of a word
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. content — the amount
  20. march — the month
  21. season — in sport
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — to wash

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