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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. bound — obliged
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bear — the animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bound — certain
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wound — an injury
  15. toast — bread
  16. chest — a box
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. bear — the animal
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bat — the animal

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