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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  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. chest — of your body
  2. fork — in a road
  3. hand — help
  4. pit — in a race
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. chest — a box
  10. spring — a coil
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. clip — a video
  17. spring — the season
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. spring — of water
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. clip — to cut
  23. clip — for paper
  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