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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. tear — to rip
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. chest — a box
  5. suit — to fit
  6. tear — from crying
  7. kick — in football
  8. clip — to cut
  9. suit — in cards
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. tube — a container
  13. chest — of your body
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. pit — in a race
  16. court — of a king
  17. clip — for paper
  18. suit — clothes
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. tube — the underground
  21. court — of law
  22. clip — a video
  23. pit — a hole
  24. court — for sport

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