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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. firm — decided
  6. chest — of your body
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. rash — hasty
  9. land — a country
  10. cell — in biology
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. cell — a phone
  13. kid — child
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rest — what's left
  18. kid — to tease
  19. rest — what's left
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. chest — a box
  22. rest — a break
  23. rash — a series
  24. firm — steady

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