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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wind — moving air
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. wind — moving air
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. fall — the season
  10. suit — clothes
  11. hand — in cards
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. fall — to drop
  14. hand — help
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. chest — a box
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — for light
  19. fall — to drop
  20. suit — to fit
  21. suit — in cards
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. bulb — of a plant

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