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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. deal — to handle
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. wake — a trail
  6. saw — the tool
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. key — for a lock
  9. chest — a box
  10. key — the most important part
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. row — a line
  16. saw — the tool
  17. key — in music
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. fork — in a road
  22. stand — to bear
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — to paddle

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