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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bear — the animal
  3. ball — a dance
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. chest — a box
  13. cold — an illness
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. ball — a great time
  17. squash — to crush
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. squash — the sport
  22. vault — a safe
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. bear — the animal

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