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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. chest — of your body
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. chest — a box
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. hand — help
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. content — the amount
  12. hand — in cards
  13. chest — of your body
  14. content — happy
  15. lie — to recline
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. present — there
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. present — a gift

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