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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. band — a ring
  3. land — to come down
  4. kid — child
  5. band — a music group
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. chest — of your body
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. mark — a trace
  12. land — a country
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. chest — a box
  15. land — ground
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. rash — hasty
  19. mark — a grade
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. foot — a measure
  23. kid — to tease
  24. rash — a series

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