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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. cell — in biology
  3. chest — of your body
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. present — a gift
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. bark — to shout
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — a box
  13. cell — a phone
  14. wake — a trail
  15. present — there
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. present — the time now
  18. rest — what's left
  19. scale — in music
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. scale — size or range
  24. foot — part of the body

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