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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. chest — of your body
  6. last — final
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. track — a song
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. last — to go on
  11. rock — music
  12. snap — to click
  13. chest — a box
  14. rock — a stone
  15. track — a path
  16. last — finally
  17. sharp — clever
  18. swing — to play on
  19. track — to keep track
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — in golf
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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