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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. roll — a cake
  3. bound — obliged
  4. roll — a list
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bound — certain
  7. chest — of your body
  8. ball — a dance
  9. ball — a great time
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. kid — child
  12. chest — a box
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. lie — to recline
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. bound — tied together
  18. lie — an untruth

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