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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 laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. spell — magic
  4. wound — an injury
  5. spell — letters
  6. can — a tin
  7. lean — thin
  8. spell — a short time
  9. lean — to bend
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. drill — army training
  13. can — a tin
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. chest — a box
  16. bass — the fish
  17. can — to be able to
  18. wound — an injury
  19. drill — the tool
  20. bass — low music
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. drill — a practice

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