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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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. game — a match
  4. rash — a series
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. date — the fruit
  8. rash — hasty
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. rush — hurry
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. chest — a box
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. game — wild animals
  20. row — to paddle
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. row — a line
  24. rush — to hurry

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