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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  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. squash — the vegetable
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. squash — to crush
  5. track — a path
  6. track — to keep track
  7. staff — a stick
  8. chest — of your body
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. kid — child
  11. wax — to grow
  12. staff — employees
  13. kid — to tease
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. squash — the sport
  16. staff — employees
  17. track — a song
  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