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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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468
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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. chest — of your body
  5. tear — to rip
  6. scale — in music
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. snap — to click
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. tear — from crying
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. tear — from crying
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. chest — a box
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. scale — size or range

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