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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rule — government
  6. rock — music
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. band — a ring
  12. band — a music group
  13. rule — a law
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. chest — a box

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