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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. plane — a tool
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. cold — not warm
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rule — government
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. hand — help
  13. chest — of your body
  14. hand — in cards
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. chest — a box
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. rule — a law
  23. foot — a measure
  24. arm — a part of something

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