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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. lie — to recline
  4. stem — to come from
  5. scale — size or range
  6. deal — to handle
  7. squash — the sport
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. squash — to crush
  11. scale — in music
  12. chest — of your body
  13. snap — to click
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. bound — obliged
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. chest — a box
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bound — certain

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