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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. band — a ring
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — for digging
  7. cell — a phone
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. chest — a box
  12. hand — help
  13. band — a music group
  14. hand — in cards
  15. suit — clothes
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. suit — to fit
  19. tube — a container
  20. suit — in cards
  21. cell — in biology
  22. chest — of your body
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — in a tire

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