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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 thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. cell — in biology
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cell — a phone
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. chest — a box
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — the fruit
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. deal — to handle
  18. mine — for digging
  19. drill — army training
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. drill — a practice
  22. chest — of your body
  23. drill — the tool
  24. deal — an agreement

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