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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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. fall — to drop
  3. chest — of your body
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. sharp — clever
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mate — a partner
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cue — a signal
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. fall — to drop
  13. root — the cause
  14. root — of a plant
  15. cue — a hint
  16. root — of a word
  17. board — to get on
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. kid — to tease
  20. chest — a box
  21. cue — for pool
  22. mate — a friend
  23. board — a committee
  24. fall — the season

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