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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 120 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 have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. chest — a box
  5. wind — moving air
  6. suit — clothes
  7. suit — to fit
  8. clip — for paper
  9. suit — in cards
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. tear — from crying
  13. foot — a measure
  14. row — a line
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wind — moving air
  17. tear — from crying
  18. season — in sport
  19. row — to paddle
  20. clip — to cut
  21. season — of the year
  22. clip — a video
  23. chest — of your body
  24. foot — the bottom

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