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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. wind — moving air
  5. face — to confront
  6. face — part of the head
  7. chest — of your body
  8. drill — army training
  9. chest — a box
  10. drill — a practice
  11. wind — moving air
  12. firm — a company
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. stem — to come from
  16. face — to point toward
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. firm — steady
  21. drill — the tool
  22. chest — of your body
  23. kid — to tease
  24. stem — 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