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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bound — obliged
  3. present — the time now
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. present — there
  6. chest — of your body
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bound — certain
  10. face — part of the head
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. kick — in football
  13. present — a gift
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — to confront
  16. ball — a dance
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. rock — music
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. rock — a stone
  21. chest — a box
  22. ball — a great time
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — 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