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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. clip — a video
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. chest — of your body
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. dip — to sink
  9. kick — in football
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. clip — to cut
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. bulb — for light
  14. chest — a box
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. clip — for paper
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. wind — moving air
  22. bulb — for light
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. wind — moving air

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