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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. pit — a hole
  5. suit — to fit
  6. chest — a box
  7. pit — in a race
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. kid — to tease
  11. suit — in cards
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. suit — clothes
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. kid — child

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