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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 120 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'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. land — ground
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wound — an injury
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. land — a country
  14. chest — a box
  15. stand — to bear
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. mine — for digging
  18. wake — a trail
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. wound — an injury
  23. vault — a safe
  24. land — to come down

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