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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. bound — obliged
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. clip — to cut
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. bound — certain
  10. pit — in a race
  11. clip — for paper
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wax — to grow
  14. bound — tied together
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. lean — to bend
  19. lean — thin
  20. clip — a video
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. pit — a hole
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. chest — a box

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