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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. wake — a trail
  5. bear — the animal
  6. object — to protest
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. branch — a division
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. rush — hurry
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. object — a thing
  14. bear — the animal
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. sharp — clever
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. object — an aim
  22. chest — of your body
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. chest — a box

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