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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. ground — a position
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. bound — tied together
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. key — in music
  10. bound — obliged
  11. row — to paddle
  12. key — the most important part
  13. kick — in football
  14. row — a line
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. key — for a lock
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. bulb — for light
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ground — crushed
  22. chest — a box
  23. bound — certain
  24. bulb — for light

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