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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. present — the time now
  5. chest — of your body
  6. present — a gift
  7. rule — government
  8. foot — a measure
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. rule — a law
  12. band — a ring
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. cold — not warm
  18. chest — a box
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. cold — an illness
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. chest — of your body

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