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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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 — to tease
  4. fine — high quality
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. kid — child
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. net — for catching
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. fine — all right
  16. chest — a box
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — size or range

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