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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — a box
  3. clip — for paper
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — the season
  6. fall — the season
  7. chest — of your body
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pit — in a race
  11. pit — a hole
  12. mine — for digging
  13. drill — army training
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. spring — a coil
  16. clip — a video
  17. fine — high quality
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. drill — a practice
  20. fine — all right
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. drill — the tool
  23. fall — to drop
  24. clip — to cut

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