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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 laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. spell — letters
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. pit — a hole
  5. spell — magic
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bass — the fish
  8. chest — of your body
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. chip — for betting
  12. bass — low music
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. bound — obliged
  15. chest — a box
  16. tear — from crying
  17. spell — a short time
  18. chip — to eat
  19. tear — to rip
  20. pit — in a race
  21. bound — tied together
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. bound — certain
  24. bass — the instrument

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