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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. object — an aim
  3. file — a document
  4. land — ground
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rock — music
  7. rock — a stone
  8. land — a country
  9. object — to protest
  10. land — to come down
  11. file — a tool
  12. lean — to bend
  13. object — a thing
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. lean — thin
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. file — a line of people
  19. chest — a box
  20. perch — the fish
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. clip — to cut

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