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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 120 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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. rash — hasty
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bound — certain
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. shower — to wash
  9. cold — not warm
  10. rash — a series
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bound — obliged
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bound — tied together
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. shower — rain
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. ball — a great time
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. ball — a dance
  24. cold — an illness

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