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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. tear — to rip
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. chest — a box
  6. tear — from crying
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. chest — of your body
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. tear — from crying
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. fan — a supporter

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