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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  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. calf — of the leg
  3. bear — the animal
  4. mate — a friend
  5. shower — rain
  6. mate — a partner
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. cell — a phone
  10. shower — to wash
  11. land — ground
  12. chest — of your body
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. chest — a box
  15. cell — in biology
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. land — to come down
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. mate — to breed
  23. land — a country
  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