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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. kid — child
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. kid — to tease
  5. staff — employees
  6. chest — of your body
  7. game — a match
  8. chest — of your body
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. mark — a grade
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. staff — employees
  13. game — wild animals
  14. mark — a trace
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. chest — a box
  18. toast — bread

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