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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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. row — a line
  4. row — to paddle
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. object — to protest
  8. object — an aim
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tube — a container
  11. mine — for digging
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. object — a thing
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — the animal
  21. chest — a box
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. trunk — of a car

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