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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. chest — of your body
  3. kid — child
  4. chest — of your body
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. prune — to trim
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. prune — to trim
  10. chest — a box
  11. wake — a trail
  12. land — to come down
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. land — ground
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. kid — to tease
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. arm — part of the body

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