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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 like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pound — a weight
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. dip — to sink
  11. snap — to click
  12. chest — a box
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. kid — child
  17. chest — of your body
  18. stick — to attach or keep to

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