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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. chest — a box
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. kid — child
  12. prune — to trim
  13. chip — for betting
  14. prune — to trim
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. kid — to tease
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. chest — of your body
  19. mine — for digging
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chip — to eat
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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