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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. chest — of your body
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. swing — in golf
  5. chest — of your body
  6. suit — to fit
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. chest — a box
  9. game — a match
  10. kid — child
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. suit — in cards
  15. swing — to play on
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. game — wild animals
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. saw — the tool
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. swing — music
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. suit — clothes
  24. saw — the tool

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