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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. snap — to click
  3. board — a committee
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. kick — in football
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. key — for a lock
  13. board — to get on
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. perch — the fish
  16. key — in music
  17. key — the most important part
  18. snap — to speak sharply

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