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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 124 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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chest — of your body
  3. track — a song
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kick — in football
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. track — to keep track
  12. cold — not warm
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left
  19. track — a path
  20. rest — a break
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. arm — part of the body

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