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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. can — a tin
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mine — for digging
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. sharp — clever
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. chest — a box
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — the underground
  13. can — a tin
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. can — to be able 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