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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. chest — of your body
  3. land — ground
  4. chest — a box
  5. bank — for money
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. root — of a word
  8. saw — the tool
  9. land — a country
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. saw — the tool
  12. kid — child
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. bank — of a river
  15. kid — to tease
  16. drill — the tool
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. drill — a practice
  19. root — the cause
  20. land — to come down
  21. bank — for money
  22. drill — army training
  23. root — of a plant
  24. patient — a sick person

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