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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 120 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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. wind — moving air
  6. chest — a box
  7. bore — to drill
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. suit — to fit
  10. suit — in cards
  11. wind — moving air
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. suit — clothes
  15. chest — of your body
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. straw — dry grass

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