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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 120 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. mate — a partner
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. chest — of your body
  8. row — a line
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. row — to paddle
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. mate — to breed
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. chest — a box
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fine — high quality
  17. fine — all right
  18. mate — a friend

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