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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. ground — a position
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bulb — for light
  6. perch — the fish
  7. chest — of your body
  8. plane — a tool
  9. stand — to bear
  10. chest — a box
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. shower — rain
  14. mine — for digging
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. ground — the earth
  17. shower — to wash
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. ground — crushed
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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