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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: chest · kid · content · capital · club · squash · craft · mouse

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. kid — child
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — to crush
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. chest — a box
  7. capital — a city
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. club — for golf
  11. content — the amount
  12. craft — a skill
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — money
  18. content — happy
  19. club — a group
  20. craft — boats
  21. squash — the sport
  22. club — for dancing
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. kid — to tease

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