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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. key — in music
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. shower — to wash
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. hand — in cards
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. bound — certain
  12. key — the most important part
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. hand — help
  16. scale — size or range
  17. bound — tied together
  18. shower — rain
  19. scale — in music
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. key — for a lock
  22. bound — obliged
  23. chest — a box
  24. scale — for weighing

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