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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. chest — a box
  4. mate — a friend
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mark — a grade
  7. bat — the animal
  8. chip — to eat
  9. shower — rain
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. shower — to wash
  14. chip — for betting
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. spring — of water
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. spring — a coil
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. spring — the season

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