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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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. foot — a measure
  4. charge — a price
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. charge — electricity
  7. chest — of your body
  8. snap — to click
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — after costs
  13. file — a line of people
  14. chest — of your body
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. file — a document
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. file — a tool
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. court — for sport
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — of law
  23. charge — in control
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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