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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. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. root — of a word
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. staff — a stick
  9. craft — a skill
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. craft — boats
  14. staff — employees
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. chest — a box
  18. root — of a plant
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kick — in football
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. staff — employees
  23. root — the cause
  24. kick — with a leg

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