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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spell — magic
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cue — a hint
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. spring — the season
  8. chest — a box
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — letters
  11. spring — of water
  12. root — of a plant
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. root — the cause
  16. root — of a word
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. perch — the fish
  19. bound — obliged
  20. cue — a signal
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bound — certain
  23. cue — for pool
  24. perch — for a bird

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