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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. chest — of your body
  3. club — a group
  4. chest — of your body
  5. rest — a break
  6. tube — a container
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. spell — magic
  9. chest — a box
  10. game — wild animals
  11. club — for golf
  12. game — a match
  13. clip — a video
  14. suit — in cards
  15. clip — for paper
  16. suit — clothes
  17. clip — to cut
  18. spell — a short time
  19. rest — what's left
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. spell — letters
  22. suit — to fit
  23. club — for dancing
  24. tube — the underground

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